Petals of Blood
by theforesttree
Summary: Sasusaku. She keeps trying to run away. But he keeps pulling her back in. "I own you." He spoke expressionlessly, and she couldn't argue, no matter how much she tried. [Reconstructed]
1. She

**Hi.**

**I'm here, and hopefully to stay to the end.**

**I am going to revise it completely. The storyline has been drawn out a little differently from what was originally planned, and I hope you like it even more.**

**Don't give up on me.**

**Here it goes.**

* * *

Sigh.

"My computer is so old that the pressing of keys sound like a typewriter."

* * *

(Type. Tick. Tick.)

Currently, I have been in this world for a total of seventeen years. (Tick.) I live by myself in a one-room apartment on 87th Street in Tokyo, Japan. The rent here is extremely high even for a small apartment on a detached road like the one I live on. (Thwack. Tick.) Many would say it's a bad location in a bad neighbourhood, but I have a strange affection towards it. Its small, but I live alone so that doesn't bother me. I love it because it's _mine_. I pay the rent, frequently late, using the pay I get from my job here in Tokyo. (Type.) I work in a coffee place, just an average one called Coffeesands. It was the best part-time job I, a seventeen year old student, could hope to get. (Tick. Tick. Thwack. Type.)

(Tick.) You might ask me what on earth am I doing living alone. I know its dangerous. But it was this or the orphanage and I do not want to ever revisit that place. (Thwack. Type.)

(Type.) What else is there to tell you about myself? I'm pretty plain, nothing outstanding or special. (Thwack.) I'm not particularly pretty and I'm fairly uncoordinated. (Tick.) I'm clumsy when I'm thinking.

When I was five, I was attacked. (Tick.) The result was I had broken both of my legs, sprained an elbow and had a pretty serious head injury. I was sent to the hospital after that. And was stuck in there for two weeks. (Tack. Tick.) Throughout my whole hospitalisation, I never had one visitor. (Tick.) When I went back to the orphanage, my 'home', my greeting was a hard slap to the face.

Sasame-san, the owner of the orphanage, was angry. (Type.) She was flinging the bills the hospital sent to our address at me and screaming that I needed to pay her back. Every cent. All the money that she had paid for my hospitalisation.

(Thwack. Type.)

But of course, I didn't have the money to pay her back. So after that I was put in-charge of taking care of the younger children in the orphanage, something I was stuck doing for years and years. After fifteen, I found work as a waitress in a local Japanese Ramen House. I remembered not sleeping for days at a time, juggling work, school and more work. (Thwack.) Sasame-san's husband, Yayoi-san offered to help me with my money crisis. I declined though. He treated all the pretty girls well. (Tick.) I didn't smile for a long time. (Thwack. Tick.) My attacker was never found and I don't remember anything of the day of the attack.

Eventually, I got out of that hellhole. Living and breathing. (Type.) I started working numerous shifts at Coffeesands and I managed to pay for my schooling fees and rent, while of course having many student loans. I continued going to school and coming home to an empty house. (Tick.)

One thing that changed in me was that I decided not to let things get me down.

(Thwack.)

I decided to take on the world.

(Tick. Type.)

I was happy.

(Thwack. Tick. Thwack. Type. Tick.)

People mostly keep living for their important people -their loved ones- in the world. (Tick.) Same with me. I decided that I would love and protect the people that are important to me. The people that love me for who I am and help me achieve who I want to be.

(Tick.)

I have a list of that important people of mine. (Thack. Thwack.) It's a short list. Barely takes a few seconds to be read. My list of important people consists of Yamanaka Ino. (Thwack.) The one and only person who loves me for me.

There are also some of the kids I used to look after back at the orphanage. I love them and I wish everyday that I could bring them with me.

(Thwack. Type.)

My name is Sakura Haruno.

And I didn't know that my list of important people was going to become a whole lot longer.

(Tick. Thwack. Type.)

Nor did I know that Sasuke Uchiha was going to be at the top of that list.

* * *

_Petals _of **Blood**

Chapter 1:

_She's the girl_

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was asleep.

A rather pleasant sleep too. He rarely had them not flooding with nightmares so he had once decided to treasure these rare happenings of uninterrupted sleep.

It was true and unavoidable that Sasuke was a light sleeper. He often woke up due to light taps of steps that others made or the occasional animal that decided to be cruel and disturb him. Out of ten nights, he would spend seven awake.

He took that fact to be something not to be disgruntled at. He spend those sleepless nights doing something useful, like training or mediating, or thinking.

But this time, he would rather sleep than do any of those. He was having one of those dreams again. The ones that creatures from his kind always were eager to have. These dreams were always different from each other, different in terms of the person dreaming them. Yet, similar. Dreams, which help these creatures find their 'other-half'.

Their _taisetsu_.

And in his sleep, they were haunting him. But he _almostsortofmaybe_ welcomed it, because it was nothing like a nightmare.

"Oi! Bastard!"

_So much for uninterrupted sleep._

The 'bastard' made a mental note to bash the interrupter's head in as he slowly sat up from his horizontal position on the cold hard ground of the outdoors. He was absolutely sure who the culprit was. There was hardly anyone who dared to wake him up and only one person who called him 'bastard'.

"What idiot?" The dark-haired male known as Sasuke, leaning up against the tree trunk he rested on, snapped back. He looked up at the blond-haired male who was standing on a thick branch of the same cherry blossom tree he was leaning against.

The blond immediately opened his mouth to retort while the other continued to glare. His blond hair flying, the tall male pounced from the tree and landed softly but leaving noticeable prints onto the hard earth beneath his feet.

"Who you calling an idiot, bastard?" The blond rolled his cerulean blue eyes, "I, the future-hokage-that-would-rule-your-ass, oh so kindly woke you up and you call me an idiot, Sasuke?"

"**Idiot**." Sasuke replied viciously, glaring a hole through the thick blond's head.

The blond blinked at the statement and raised one of his eyebrows. "Did the stick up your ass go up higher? You are more irritated than the usual Uchiha Sasuke extreme this fine evening."

"..." The blond was annoying Sasuke. Very much. He really wanted to bash his head in at the moment.

"You slept longer than usual. Usually, you are the one who kicks me out of trees. It's like… eight already-" Sasuke ruffled his raven hair irritatedly and quickly stood. Naruto didn't seem to notice Sasuke standing, still ranting about things that the other male couldn't bring himself to care about.

Sasuke groaned softly, massaging his temples, unconsciously trying to bring the images back.

"-I am going to ask Hinata to eat breakfast with me later today. I am not really thirsty so I think ramen would be good-" He continued to talk even though he had no answer. Sasuke sighed and cut the blond off, "Naruto. I saw the taisetsu flickers."

"-should be able to get out of this forest and back to school on time, right? I mean-..." He paused, blinked and hollered. "_WHAT?_ You did?"

Sasuke inwardly flinched at the volume of the 'what'. "Aa."

"That so cool. You are already _old_ and you still can see the flickers?"

"Hn. I hadn't seen them in a long time."

"Bastard, that is awesome. Then you can get together like Hinata and I!" Naruto exclaimed with such glee that it should be illegal. At least in Sasuke's opinion.

"Moron. That is close to impossible."

"You still got time!" Naruto argued.

Sasuke, even if he said was impossible, was contemplating about how he should find his taisetsu.

Because he was an Uchiha after all.

And Uchihas should be able to find one measly pink-haired woman.

* * *

I let my lids slide over my bright green eyes, lips in a tight smile and arms mechanically stretched perpendicularly in front of me, hands waving in a no-no fashion. "No, Ino, honesty, do you really think I can't survive without you? Go already!" I put as much exasperation into my voice as possible. The person in question did not grimace. But she did frown prettily.

"Sakura..."

"-Yeah...?" I said slowly, keeping cautious. _Keep the face, keep the face._

The pretty -beautiful- blond in front of me drew in a quick breath before huffing. "Uh huh, I'll visit you soon, promise!" She smiled cheerfully, cheekily, poking my forehead lightly, a gesture that had been a sign of friendship between us and laughing when my lips curved into a pout. She was unstoppable.

I smiled again. "Alright. Go enjoy yourself in Dachino. Remember not to eat too much; you are already too fat." I taunted back at Ino. My hand nervously brushed the long pink strands of hair behind my shoulders.

Ino stuck out her tongue, waved, turned and walked away, leaving me standing on the steps of the school. I let the tiring smile slip off my face.

I sighed. _Thank goodness. _It had been a long time since I wasn't caught for lying.

I turned and walked in the opposite direction of which Ino took, heading back to the crowded campus. I still had art class left today.

* * *

If the glare Sasuke had marring his face was meant to scare the person in front of him, it wasn't working. It may have worked on anyone else, but not on him.

Hatake Kakashi stood, taking on Sasuke's full Uchiha Death Glare, with an amused twinkling in his solitude eye. They were both in a dark room, lit by a solitary light on the desk Sasuke sat at. Kakashi stood relaxed in front of the desk, tapping his fingers lightly on the orange book he held in his right hand.

"Really, Sasuke, can't I ask an innocent question? I just wanted to know exactly why I was sent to get research about a pink-haired woman at eight in the morning."

Sasuke scoffed at the man's innocent tone and lone twinkling eye full of mischief and silent humor. "None of your business."

"Ah, being an ass yet again are you? Then I guess you don't want to know the information I gathered then..." The amused twinkle grew more prominent and the tapping stopped.

Sasuke glared harder.

"Tell me."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask that hid his nose, mouth and chin region from the world. "Since you are so..._eager_..." Kakashi took another step closer to the desk and the glowering man. "Her name is Sakura Haruno. Human, and currently seventeen years old."

His brain worked as he quickly processed the wanted information. His hands that were steepled in front of his mouth tightened slightly as he raised his eyebrows, requesting (demanding) more information. He was unprepared, but caught it all the same, for the folder that Kakashi sent his way.

"The council had extremely limited amount of information on the human girl. I had to sneak into her school and get it from the vice-principal." The silver-haired man said simply, crossing his arms over his muscled chest, his orange book still in hand.

The other male raised his head at the word 'sneak' and it snapped down quickly after, scanning the data printed in the folder.

Kakashi didn't break the silence as Sasuke quietly read. Sasuke read the folder and Kakashi read his expressions (which was difficult if he hadn't known Sasuke for a long time).

"Leave."

And Kakashi did so, smiling under his mask.

* * *

I felt my lungs constrict considerably as I continued to push my feet forward. My thoughts were haphazard and I realized that it was unknown to me why I was _still _running.

I exhaled a large gust of air, as my feet took on a new pounding speed as I sorted my thoughts. I was _this _close to slapping Tachira across her face, hard. Who knew that the Queen Bitch, Tachira Wantanabi, could make me, Sakura Haruno, raise her fist and prepare to bash someone's skull in.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going or why I was running really. If I was, I would have realized that the distance was far enough; I could halt my tiring sprint already.

I huffed, and noticed my missing backpack. _Damn, I left in in my locker._ I bit my lip, still thinking while running down the pavement. The reason why I was targeted by Wantanabi is probably that Ino Yamanaka had transferred schools. _Che, that girl thinks that I am now vulnerable. That I need Ino to protect me._

…_Do I?_

I shook my head roughly, clearing her thoughts as I looked down at my ugly white shoes flying down the pavement. _I am not going to not let Tachira get to me._

Fortunately for Wantanabi, when I prepared to deliver the slap that would wipe her smirk off her 'pretty' face (and probably disfigure the other parts) the Principal of the school decided to walk out of the gates, and to have the perfect view of Tachira and me. At that time, I had to bolt. School fees usually overdue, empty of any record of services to the school, I couldn't afford any disciplinary trouble. Added, Tachira Wantanabi was freaking drowning in money; constantly donating money to the school would surely put her on the Principal's Must-Treat-Specially-Well list.

Yes, it was unfair.

So, of course I took off immediately when I saw the balding head of the approaching Principal, shining in the late afternoon sun.

Unfortunately, I didn't realise that I was going in the wrong direction until it was too late.

I just ran.

* * *

I clumsily managed to dodge a trashcan that was in the way, but I didn't think around my landing. _Typical me_. So I landed all wrong at the side of the pavement twisting my ankle, and tripping. _Wonderful, Sakura. You have done it again._

And when my shoulder hit against the alley wall that was in the direction of my fall and scraped my right leg, I swore.

It _really _wasn't my lucky day.

The gash was long and deep and blood was trickling out slowly and sluggishly. The alley walls in this part of town weren't so well taken care of, the bricks were crumbling and many parts lay broken.

I bit my bottom lip as my hands flew to frantically try to stop the bleeding. I felt sick. The sweat, the blood and the pain were getting to me.

I shook my head, the pink strands flying everywhere and into my vision, disappointed with my luck. I took a sharp intake of breath when a particularly cold gust blew through the alleyway. _It's cold and getting late._

And then I heard numerous loud footsteps echoing off the walls ominously. I froze. I lay fallen somewhere in the middle of the alleyway. I ran in from one direction, but the people were coming from the other.

"Ahh- is that blood I smell?"

"Its sweet too. Bet you it tastes nice."

"Fuck. I can't resist it."

"Why bother...just get her."

Hearing their slow drawls sent shivers down my spine. Shakily, I pushed myself off the ground, struggling to regain my balance. Before I was completely sure I was stable on my two feet, I turned and stumbled towards the entrance of the alley, back where I came from. Keeping at least a good distance from the four or so people coming towards me would probably be a good idea. Something told me that being in a dark alley at a part of town which I hadn't visited before with blood flowing down my left leg into my socks was _not_ a good situation.

Especially when four people whom I have never seen before in my life were cornering me.

_Oh my god, oh my god. Who the hell are these people?_

When I stumbled again and had to place my hand against the alley wall, I briefly panicked. _I won't be able to outrun them_. Quickly contemplating, I spun around to put my back against the cold wall.

They approached faster. There were six of them now.

My mind immediately flashbacked to the other time I was attacked. Back when I was five, many years ago. My panic rose up several notches. My eyes darted everywhere, looking for something - _anying_.

And when something dark and black and just downright out-of-the-blue dropped down in front of me, I sucked in air and screamed as loud as my constricted lungs would allow.

The sound was quickly stopped, however, by a hand that swiftly came down to rest upon my mouth.

"...blood-thirsty fuckers."

I stared hard. I wasn't really surprised to see that the _thing _that dropped from wherever (heaven or probably the roof) was actually a some_body._

Somebody, who:

a) did not respect personal space

b) had scary crimson eyes, that literally glowed in the darkness, which were glaring at the other members of our little alley gathering

c) (I couldn't believe that I could think of such things at the moment) definitely was Ino's definition of _good-looks_

d) had a chicken-ass hairstyle

e) had dipped his head down to my right ear

f) had something that was currently piercing my neck

* * *

**Oh yes, I missed this.**

**Tell me what you guys thought of this. I really am unconfident of my writing nowadays.**


	2. A Fairytale

Okay, great. Second chapter. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

You _could _say that I was surprised.

-Shocked even.

_Heck, _I was _flabbergasted._

If you woke up in the same place I did, you would be too.

* * *

_Petals_ of **Blood**

Chapter 2:

A fairytale

* * *

I was feeling lightheaded when I regained consciousness. It was like an utter blank in my brain where there was a repetitive, constant pounding, like a strong unstoppable beat of a drum.

But that was **before **I saw the room I was in.

My eyelids felt like they have been sewed shut. I imagined the tearing of skin when I fought to open my eyes. Finally succeeding, I blinked tiredly. I felt exhausted, like I have worked quadruple shifts and have not slept for days. My hand automatically rose to my head, to stop the room from spinning. My eyes focused, adjusted, to my surrounding that was bathed in a dim yellow light. _Hmm…energy-saving light bulbs. _I appreciated the intensity; the lights weren't hurting my eyes. _Sometimes, I surprise myself with my own thoughts. _

I looked around slowly, careful not to disturb my aching head. But all the thoughts of headache and exhaustion flitted from my mind as I took in the sight around me. The room was amazing. My eyes roved around the room, taking in the details, while the feelings of confusion grew. The queen-sized bed with (soft, fluffy, comfortable) cream-colored pillows and sheets dominated the huge, _seriously large, area _enclosed by walls (I **refuse** to call it a room). It had four posts of rich mahogany and intricate sloping carving, but no canopy. All the walls of the room were a blends of lighter shades of cream, no wall a single shade, complementing the bed perfectly. The interior design and deco on the junctures where the walls and ceiling meet blended together well, creating a strange sense of tranquility and beauty. It was as if the walls were craved by angels. There were straight lines, curved slopes and small, small details that I could stare at forever, trying to decipher the intention of the designer.

_This room was fit for royalty._

The soothing light luminated and casted shadows all around the place in pretty colors, making me notice the three doors at the sides of the room. All of them were twin doors, opening up at the middle, fitted with huge brass knobs and similar locks beneath. They looked heavy. A desk, also mahogany and expensive-looking was located at one end of the room. A sleek silver laptop, which sat innocently on its surface, caught my eye, a sore thumb in a Victorian room. It looked very much like it won't sound like an old jammed-up typewriter. There was also an old-fashioned lamp together with a pale red lampshade, making the yellow light seem slightly pinker as it lit up the enormous room.

_Where am I?_

Wooden shelves and drawers and compartments lined one of the slightly darkened walls, ranging sizes. I rose lightly to my feet, slightly unstable. Walking over to the large chest of drawers, my curiosity won over and I opened the many compartments. They were all empty, but no dust occupied within. _Such a mystery._ The other walls were covered with veils of translucent; under it there were subtle patterns, either concaved or convex. My hand twitched as I had an urge to run my hands over it, just to feel how expensive and pretty-looking walls would feel like. But I resisted and hung my arms down my sides. _If I don't touch it, it continues to be a dream._ Connected to the ceiling, hung a magnificent dangling chandelier. Right below it sat a huge plush pale white-off circular carpet.

_This room was simply amazing._

I sniffed - it even smelt amazing. I couldn't place the scent, but I knew I could smell this forever without growing tired of it. Suddenly a sharp pain tore across my midsection. I had an acidic tang at the back of my throat while my stomach rumbled painfully. I looked back towards the bed, my eyes zooming in onto the porcelain plate stacked high with different kinds of bread. I walked over to the bedside table slowly, careful not to intensify the pain. Leaning my weight onto the tall table, I scarfed down a piece of baguette. It was cold, but still tasty.

As I ate and drank water from the helpful pitcher on the same table, my thoughts swirled unbidden around my head. I wondered who exactly brought me here (or was I still dreaming?).

My unvoiced question was answered when one of the large twin doors swung open.

* * *

My head snapped up at the approaching footsteps, my eyes widening. It was all too strange, all too curious, all too confusing. Waking up in a stranger's (magnificent, amazing) room was not a common occurrence for me.

And having tall, dark and handsome men walk into said room wasn't one either.

I wasn't prepared to have anyone see me while my thoughts were still tangled. So excuse me for pointing a shaking hand at him and screaming "Who are you?!" rather loudly. My hand still held the half-eaten bread.

Instead of speaking, he took another calculated step towards me, into the brightness of the room. I was still standing by the chest of drawers and beside table, my feet rooted to the floor and my eyes rooted to his.

My eyes widen even more as I took him in. _After you shouted at him,_ Inner Sakura shook her head at me. He was absolutely _gorgeous_. Dark, dark hair that looked almost blue, high aristocratic nose, thin lips twisted into a frown and dark onyx eyes. He was dressed in all black. Everything about him was dark. His eyes…reminded me of a lion, together with his slinking grace, he was a predator. And I recognized that face... I blinked several times, frantically searching my memory of what happened before I blacked out. I was sure...that he was involved, somehow.

He kept his face completely unemotional, watching me watch him. My eyes locked onto his. They were completely unreadable.

I belatedly realized that I didn't get an answer. I repeated herself. "Who are you?" I was impressed with myself. My voice didn't waver one bit. It was soft, but not trembling unlike my hands.

He didn't answer immediately. "Sasuke Uchiha." Simple, monotone voice.

I steeled myself; I was not to be intimidated as the memories of what happened to me in the alley came flashing back. _But those couldn't be true could it?_

"Sasuke Uchiha...?" my whispered voice echoed throughout the huge room. I tested the name carefully, committing it to memory, so I could tell the police who kidnapped me. _No, no, this is a dream remember?_

"..."

"...Where am I?"

"Uchiha District." Another, simple, no-nonsense statement.

I frowned. Those short statements that did not really answer my questions were annoying me. I embraced the anger. I deserved to be angry. Some random stranger dragged my unconscious form here and I was down right confused.

"May I _ohsonicely_ ask," I took a deep breath, preparing to unleash my anger. "**WHERE THE HELL IS THAT?**" The sarcasm rolling off my tongue, anger radiating off me in waves.

"...annoying." Sasuke replied under his breath, so softly I barely heard it.

My eyes flashed dangerously as I gaped.

"Well... excuse me?! You got some _serious_ problem! Kidnapping me? Knocking me out? Then calling me annoying?" With each word I took a tentative step, closer to the scowling man. _Boy? He doesn't look that old. Maybe my age? Slightly older?_

"...You're loud. Shut up." He told me bluntly.

I paused in my steps next to one of the bedpost to glare at him. I sound and look a lot stronger than I felt. He had made no movement towards me since he walked in, with his facial expression it was as if I had a incorrigible disease. He was leaning against one of the wooden doors he had come through with an air of grace and tenseness. He made me feel so small.

_Who the hell do you think you are?_

I took a deep breath, before calmly, _calmly, _speaking. "Can...can you just _tell _me who exactly _are… _you and what the _hell _am I doing here?"

His right hand reached up and rubbed his temple. He sighed like I was an errant child. "I told you. I am Sasuke Uchiha. This is my estate." His voice was deep and sensuous. His onyx eyes bore into mine, taking me prisoner. I swallowed hard.

I wasn't pleased.

"...what am I doing here?"

"..."

As both of us continued to stare, all I heard was our breathing. His even-paced, while I exhaled loudly.

My patience snapped. _I never had a good temper anyway._ **"HELLO? TALK YOU BASTARD!" **_Its not a good idea to anger your kidnapper you know, _Inner Sakura chided. _He could do anything to you. You won't stand a chance. Look at that built._

I pushed Inner Sakura out and let out a loud and rude huff before I heard him speak again. "You were unconscious."

"**WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" **Pink hair flew around my face as I shook my head harshly. My brain didn't realize how tightly I was gripping the bedpost. I was talking as fast as a windmill now. "WHY? Why was I unconscious? EXACTLY who are YOU?" His face shifted minutely from indifference to slight frustration.

"Just...just tell me what you want with me." Even to my own ears I sounded defeated. I watched him closely, searching for some answers.

"..."

I waited.

His jaw moved, muscles tightening. I watched on.

Words finally came out.

"I own you."

Confusion flooded my brain and overtook my anger. I probably had an almost laughable expression on my face. I stepped back, and in light of the movement, tumbled softly to the bed behind me.

He didn't stop there, continuing on with his delicious voice, "You are now my slave. You obey me."

_Okay, so not so delicious words. _I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I closed it and tried again, my eyebrows screwing together.

"You will serve me. For your entire lifetime."

His voice was flat. Monotone.

My lips moved finally. "H-how?"

He closed his dark onyx eyes-

"I am a vampire. And I made you my slave."

- and reopened them to reveal frightening crimson red that sent a shock I felt all the way down to my bones.

* * *

I wasn't moving at all. Just staring.

Liar. He was a fucking liar.

I don't care how hot he is, he was a liar.

He brought me here, after kidnapping me, to the supposedly 'Uchiha Estate'. And then he tells me a bunch of… of… crap. He expects me to believe him? That he was a _vampire_? The blood-drinking creatures things? I felt like scoffing, but my facial muscles have deserted me, along with the function of my vocal cords. Vampires do not exist. THEY DON'T EXIST. Same as ghosts, same as werewolves. Vampires don't exist. They never had, they never would. Who was he trying to fool? Do I look that gullible? Simple, innocent, easy to fool Sakura-chan? No. I am not.

_(Sakura Haruno. Don't let him fool you.)_

Tch. Vampire? Then Ino's a leprechaun with fairy wings.

_(Don't let him fool you.)_

I continued to stare at him. Willing him to disappear.

_(You're not gullible anymore.)_

He stared at me with those onyx eyes – eyes that at one point of time, I could swear, were red.

_(No! It's a trick. You're not foolish anymore!)_

I glared back at him.

_(No, no, no, no-)_

"I am a vampire. And you are my slave."

He spoke in a clear demanding voice, not wavering, not trembling.

"Come." Before I knew it, my feet were unfolding themselves underneath me and touching the solid ground. Then they walked.

_(Don't let him fool you.)_

What the hell is this?

_(Don't. Don't. Don't.)_

He's a liar. A liar. WHY ARE MY FEET MOVING?

I...can't control...them.

_(Liar. Liar.)_

I...my feet stopped, directly in front of him. "You'll obey everything I say."

His hand rose to my neck. And touched something there.

_(He...he...)_

My eyes were locked with his. But my own hand rose and touched the same object.

There was a leather collar around my neck.

_(-is a liar!)_

He leaned in closer, almost touching my ear, "I. Own. You." His voice was staccato. My mind went into shock.

_(He's a fucking liar.)_

He drew back his pale hand, took a long glance at me before opening the door behind him and walking away.

My heart gave a painful thump.

_(Liar. Liar. Pants on fire. HE IS A LIAR!)_

I stared at his retreating back, unable to move, unable to think, unable to breathe.

_But what if he wasn't?_

* * *

"BASTARD!"

In the middle of the corridor, the dark-haired male stopped. But he didn't make a move to face the source of the loud voice. He waited for the blond to catch up to him, barely concentrating on his surroundings. His head was full of thoughts of his previous conversation with the person he recently brought into his life.

"Hn." People wondered how on earth did they become best friends. Sasuke Uchiha was dark and mysterious. Naruto Uzumaki was all sunshine and laughter. Direct opposites as they say.

The blond haired vampire thumped hard on Sasuke's back as a sign of greeting. The whiskers on his cheeks stretched as he spoke. "Kakashi-sensei said you met her?" Sasuke was unsurprised at the conversation topic. "And she was _HUMAN?"_ Naruto didn't make the effort to soften his voice, and it loudly echoed throughout the corridor. The walls were soundproof. Nobody other than the intended Uchiha heard him.

Sasuke didn't hesitate. "Hn."

Naruto was nothing similar to Sasuke. He didn't bottle up his emotions and feelings to the extent of Sasuke. He was known as one of the most expressive vampires there were in Japan. Sasuke was known as the unbreakable ice cube.

"Bastard, that's impossible!There is no way she's human."

Dark eyes hardened. Sasuke let out a long-suffering sigh.

"She is."

Once again, Naruto let the shock cover his face and voice. "Human?" Naruto echoed. "Are you serious? That never happened before!" Naruto was loud. Sasuke wasn't.

A fist came down on the blond head before Naruto could react, which was pretty darn fast.

"Shut. Up."

Bright blue eyes blinked at the harshness of his friends voice and narrowed slightly.

"Bastard."

Naruto often called Sasuke that. It was a childhood nickname.

But it was, uncommonly, said seriously this time.

They stared at each other. Sasuke impassively, Naruto anxiously.

"What did you do to her?"

His eyes flashed briefly. "None of your business." The tone Sasuke used would have been enough to end the conversation.

Naruto glared at him, fully intending to bash the truth out of the 'bastard'. Sasuke glared right back, his mind still elsewhere.

Completely **nothing** alike.

* * *

I was trying to escape. It seemed like a reasonable course of action at this moment of time.

I had grown restless, shifting from place to place, touching walls, wood and glass. I had been in that room for approximately more than five hours without any signs of life. I had screamed, shouted and was close to pleading, but no one had come. The 'Uchiha District' seemed empty. I suspected that anyone else who lived in such a... place would be just as strange as the dark-haired (liar) male who captured (and lied to) me.

The doors (two of them) were locked, from the outside. The third and final door was some kind door made out of old solid wood that led to a walk-in closet. It was exquisite and elaborate but empty, other than some extra royal blue and rich red bed sheets and pillows tucked neatly in one of the corners.

Another reason for why I was working so hard to escape was because it kept my mind off the fact that I just met a 'vampire' and was now his 'slave'.

Just as the thought passed though my mind a scoff escaped my lips.

Not one for sitting around being helpless, I tried to pick the locks but the doors were huge (at least three times my height) and so were the locks, all bronze and brass. So a hairpin wouldn't work, I sighed as I pushed the pin I had been using back into my hair carelessly. I needed something strong enough to move the tumblers and yet flexible enough to manipulate. I was having little luck with that. _Like anything today actually gone right._

Frustration curled in my gut. Inner Sakura was silent, choosing not to comment.

There was an air vent, carefully hidden. It was big enough for me to fit through since I was quite thin and petite, but it was located near the extremely high ceiling. As I contemplated it, various scenarios ran through my head and many not ending well. I didn't want to break any bones from falling off some shelves.

The last resort was the big window on the southern wall. My feet padded against the floor as I moved around in the huge room. I raised my hands to push back the curtains of royal blue to reveal the glass window. It was definitely a good size, an easy enough escape. I slid the tumbler out of the lock and pushed the large window open. It moved smoothly, not hampered by its own weight. My lips curved for the first time since I arrived into a small smile.

It was late evening at least, maybe night. The full moon shone brightly, no stars surrounding it.

I enjoyed the moonlight for a few seconds before dark clouds moved to obscure it.

I had to tiptoe a little to manage with my short height but quietly I swung my right leg over the sill, flinching slightly. The night was cold and the window frames were too. My uniform skirt rode up a few inches, but I paid no attention to it. Peered around both curiously and cautiously, I did a small awkward leap before completely exiting out the window. My feet touched the concrete ground outside.

Reluctantly, I couldn't help by glance back. I knew that I wouldn't be in a fancy room like that for a long long time to come. Or ever actually. _This is all a dream, remember? _The room was beautiful, and I wished I had my sketchbook. I wondered idly how it would look if someone were to live in it. In my mind's eye, I imagined someone beautiful, maybe a princess, moving around gracefully from the bed to the vanity, combing a brush through her long tresses all the way, a huge smile in place on her pale pink lips. _Brunette? No, maybe blond and stunning like Ino._

My eyes shifted to the scene before me as the image in my mind drifted away. It didn't look like I was in Tokyo anymore. It was almost like a garden, complete with the statues and stone benches. There was a wonderful array of flowers, delighting me with sight and smell, and my fingers itched for my sketchbook again.

It was dark though; the moonlight couldn't peer through the thick clouds.

I walked carefully, eyes on my feet. I had a strong urge to sit among the flowers so I did not look at them long. I crossed the platform and went down the marble steps. Unbidden, my thoughts raced. My shoes...didn't look worthy to be stepping on such fine marble. A sigh that I didn't know I had escaped my lips, before I clamped a hand onto my own mouth. Escapees supposed to be quiet.

The garden, of course, was beautiful and like everything else here, huge. There were soft sounds of water, making me believe that there was some sort of water decoration nearby. Trees lined the whole area. Tall stonewalls were built around what I assumed as the perimeter, acting as a fence. Scattered on the ground and statues, were flowers, predominantly cherry blossom petals.

The place looked like it came out of some type of fairytale.

I spun around, my pink hair flowing in the breeze and whipping into my face. I looked back to where I came from, staring at the infrastructure. The place was a freaking manor. It was mostly painted in black, white and grey. It's walls imposing and grand. And... it looked amazing.

_I am definitely not in Tokyo anymore._

The thought scared me. I was kidnapped, away from home for all I know, and had no idea how I was going to get back.

My eyes pricked and I furiously pushed back the urge to cry. I blinked repetitively, turning my back on the beautiful manor. A cold breeze blew around me. I shivered. The whole, wonderful, amazing, beautiful garden lying in front didn't make me feel even a little bit better. On any normal day, I would be playing, be dancing across the flowerbeds, having fun – like I have in gardens much less magnificent and enchanting as this one.

Shaking my head and strengthening my resolve, I strained my eyes, trying to spot the gates leading to the exit. I didn't see clues to the exit, so I picked a random direction and ran along the perimeter of the manor.

As I ran, my emotions grew more and more intense, more and more crushing.

It didn't stop, not even when I saw the tall, black iron gates leading to the outside world in a distance.

This place, seemed unreal. _Surreal._

In front of the metal gates, the walkway was lined with pretty cherry blossom trees.

My feet came to a stop. My breathing came out in harsh pants as I stared.

The petals danced in the wind, fluttering to the ground eventually. They rained down from the trees, having a moment of being airborne, being beautiful. Before they reach the ground. They don't last long, but they are amazing for those spare minutes.

I always didn't think of myself like cherry blossoms petals despite my name, I thought I was more of the cherry blossom tree, something that doesn't die off so easily. Something that wasn't _weak_.

Never the center of attention, but always there.

I bit the insides of her mouth slightly, jolting myself out of the space out.

Pink petals stuck to my pink hair, no doubt camouflaging in it.

I cleared her mind and focused on escaping again.

My steps started, shaky, maybe desperate. Reaching the start of the walkway, I sprinted down to reach the end of it, ignoring the worry of falling flat on my face.

If I admit it to myself, I was scared. The place was scary. At the back of my mind, something or someone was screaming.** This place doesn't exist. **This is all a dream (– and you are never escaping from it.)

_It doesn't exist._

_Nothing exists._

_This is all a lie._

_He is lying to you._

My steps quickened. And quickened.

I could _almost_ touch the gate, until everything froze into place. A fairytale.

"Stop."

I felt it again, the sense, hitting the back of my mind like the pitter-patter of rain on a large glass window.

I found that I couldn't move.

And suddenly, I felt him right behind me.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" He breathed, softly but even that sounded menacing. His voice sounded close by. And I could feel him, like the static that hung in the air, connecting him and I.

If anybody – _anybody _said that to me, I wouldn't have snapped back at him or her. Say a witty retort or use sarcasm like a weapon.

If only I could will my lips to move.

"You tried to escape." The words rolled off his tongue smoothly, stating the oblivious. I heard him take a few steps and suddenly I could feel the warmth radiating off him in waves, or maybe it was his fury. Static continued to flow between us and I was rigid, stiff like a board, straining to hear him. Straining to understand.

I couldn't see Sasuke, but I could tell he was glaring at me by the tone of his voice. It wasn't monotone anymore, it sounded furious. I knew then that even if I could move, I would have stiffened at his cold voice.

This place. This scenery. This atmosphere. His voice. It was all-

I struggled.

A large hand gripped my upper arm, "don't." A shiver ran down my spine immediately and I wished very much on the non-existent stars that I could scream for help.

I was tired, so tired, of all these one-sided conversations.

Trying to force my limbs to move, I started to struggle violently.

_(Don't disobey your master.)_

A sharp pain shot through me, starting from the bottom of my spine to the base of my skull and sinking into my brain. My mouth dropped open in shock as my breathing came out in gush.

And finally, I could move.

My body would have crumbled to the stone ground traitorously if not for the hand on my arm.

Uncontrollable gasps escaped my lips and I didn't even struggle to bring my breathing back under control.

_Was...I just ELECTROCUTED...?_

My eyes were blurred; sight affected, and there was a large amount pressure behind my eyes, making everything in front of me turn into sharp white.

_The world lost all its color._

* * *

(vampires? Phht. No way.)

* * *

His words were spoken in his normalvelvet (yet…rough) tone but I heard it as if he was speaking underwater. Or I was underwater.

His words came through and embed into me. I clung onto them as if they were a life raft. Despite not hearing it well, I understood it perfectly; as if I have been hearing the same words over and over again my whole life.

"Don't fight it."

I felt myself relaxing, _shockingly._

If it weren't for the fact that I could hear his voice, I would have thought I had died. It was not painful anymore but I was unprepared. Things seem distant. As if no matter how far I reach, I wouldn't come into contact with anything.

I wanted to scream,

-but my mouth wouldn't open.

Everything around was just shades, no colors. (_I couldn't see him_.)

_A colorless world._

"Do not disobey me."

Then, everything went into fast motion, as if someone pressed the forward button on a DVD player which was playing an old-fashion black-and-white movie.

He didn't catch me when I crumpled to the ground completely. And I didn't expect him too. I didn't (couldn't) expect anything out of him.

It seemed like forever had passed even though, from hindsight, things happen pretty quick.

"Whenever you do not follow my orders that would happen."

Each and every word went deep, embed deep into me.

_How was this happening?_

I hated that feeling, - like I was detached from everything else.

_Is this how it feels to be electrocuted?_

"That was punishment. I cannot control it. There is no mercy."

I heard every word, even the bitterness behind them, but I wasn't exactly _there._

"They vary in intensities. Sometimes just a jolt. Stronger ones can make you wither in pain."

My eyes widen, which was good because that shows that I wasn't dead.

Things, sights before my eyes, started to come into focus.

"Be obedient and none of this would happen."

Colors started to fill in. All bright, vibrant and glaring, making my eyes hurt before they dulled and returned to night. I was not prepared and I did not react when his cold hand reached down to grasp my arm again.

He pulled me up easily like I was a puppet.

(a doll.)

My missing feelings other than detachment and _death_ came back all at once like a flood and instantly, I felt anger.

I jerked under and out of his grip and steadied myself.

His hand never reached to me again.

* * *

I found myself in the same room (the glorious one with the pretty walls) once again, unsure of how I got there. Everything blurs away when I was with Sasuke.

But this time, with an entirely different person.

My previous thoughts about Sasuke and myself being the only two people that existed in the manor – was proven wrong. Or maybe this was a visitor? But he seems so comfortable in the large manor.

And, I surprised myself by how _at ease _I was around this particular man compared to the intimidating Sasuke Uchiha who I kind of hate now because _hello? _He freaking electrocuted me.

He introduced himself as Kakashi, just Kakashi. I studied him carefully, sitting on the large spacious bed. I didn't trust my own legs now, after the experience in the cherry blossom roadway. He was mysterious, with a dark navy blue (almost black) mask covering his nose-mouth region of his face. A piece of cloth was tied around his forehead sagging slightly, effectively shielding his left eye from anyone's view. The cloth sported a peculiar symbol, something resembling a swirl and a triangle, engraved onto a plate of metal.

His appearance should have made me more wary around him, but somehow, I wasn't.

Perhaps it was the fact that he properly spoke to me and didn't cause me any physical pain and/or did anything that resembles kidnapping. But he also wasn't showing any form of action to help me either…

Maybe it was his age. He seemed to be in his late-twenties, early-thirties. He was an adult _vampire_ (it seems) – as he told me moments after introducing himself.

(_Kakashi. Vampire.)_

Possibly it was because he actually talked to me like a '_normal human being' _and he answered all of her questions.

("Do vampires really exist?"

"Yes, they –we- do.")

I still choked and spluttered at the word '_vampire_'. My disbelief escalating through the roof.

("He…he told me that I was his…slave."

"He's not joking. He did claim you.")

Despite being more comfortable around this older man, I carefully placed a distance between us.

("H-how is that possible?"

"All vampires have adequate powers to be able to make vampires of lower strength or humans become servants – slaves. As long as they can subdue the slave.")

I stared at the strange man.

("Adequate power? Subdue?"

"All vampires have certain strength that extend over that of humans.")

It was a lot to take in.

("All vampires are powerful?"

"Well, not quite, some much more powerful than others.")

I couldn't believe I was talking civilly to this crazy man.

("Is… Sasuke?"

"You mean…is he powerful?"

She nodded.

Sakura thought she saw him smile under his mask, but she couldn't be sure.

"Hm, I suppose he is.")

_Maybe, just maybe_

("Oh I see."

"You're taking this strangely well. You're a strange woman, Sakura Haruno.")

_She_

I was quiet for a few moments while my brain exploded with information, questions and confusion, and Kakashi was silent, leaving me to sort my thoughts in peace. A sharp intake of breath later, I decided on my course of action.

"Where am I?"

He answered without hesitation, his eye twinkling. I think he was laughing at my expense but I could not be sure.

"Konoha."

_Could_

"Where's that?"

_Don't think. Get answers and think later._

"It's the place where most vampires come to when they live near Tokyo."

_Trust_

"Would I be able to get back…to where I came from?" Unconsciously, I let the hope flood into my voice. It could be making all the difference between a 'yes' and a 'no'. Would he sympathize?

"That's not up to me, but to Sasuke. Which means it's probably a no." His lone eye crinkled at the edges, giving the sense of age and smiling faces.

I was afraid to ask, "what does he want with me?", terrified of the answer.

Kakashi sighed, shrugging but answered quickly. "I don't know."

I tried her best not to let the rising panic show on my face. "Is there any way for me to…escape this…?" I couldn't say it. I couldn't say the word _slavery._ I scolded myself in my head. _I could only hope._

He hesitated this time, for a brief moment, and I wondered if he was unsure whether he should tell me. He looked at me, at my position sitting stiffly in the huge satin bed clutching the silk sheets tightly in both of my small fists. "…Masters and servants are bonded by blood – the servant's blood." He paused, "Sasuke must have sucked your blood and stored it into a ring and made that for you." He gestured to the leather collar around my neck that I knew was there, that I could feel it was there.

I didn't have to prompt him to continue, but I wished I could read his face. Maybe that would soothe my scattered feelings, mostly panic and confusion and just _fear._

"Special vampires called: _Gimu-teki _which means 'binding' creates them. They use their spells and power to make the ring that the master wears containing the blood of the servant. The collar is made by the same Gimu-teki. The collar is a sign of slavery, a sign of a bounded slave. Both the ring and the collar are made specially and specifically for the individual master and servant. No two rings and collars are the same." The words I heard but they didn't make any sense.

He added, "I would say your collar is unsurprisingly beautiful. The patterns on it are extremely detailed."

My hand involuntarily travelled up to touch the fine material of the collar before my brain even processed the information. I stoked it, feeling the thick leather. I tried to peek down but from my view it was impossible to see the thing that was delicately curled around my neck. Instead, I raised my head and looked around trying to locate a mirror.

"There. That door over there." I had forgotten that Kakashi was even in the room.

He nudged his head towards the door on the adjacent side of the room.

I took a deep breath before standing up and walking towards the door. The doorframe was huge and it held two twin doors, similar to the other door.

I placed my hand into the brass doorknob and pushed. It opened easily, not making any sound. _…When was this unlocked?_

And the sight that greeted my eyes was amazing. _Why are you still surprised, _Inner Sakura scoffed, looking a lot more in control than I felt.

It was a bathroom, all shiny and nicely decorated. It was even bigger than my whole room back home in Tokyo. There was a huge space in the middle of the bathroom. At one end, the end of the wooden floor paneling - there held many racks of towels and bathrobes. Next to that was a shower stall. Completely glass and I felt it was quite embarrassing. Upon closer inspection, there were metal racks in the stall made to place shampoo and conditioners – those which had foreign words printed on it and I could barely read the Japanese Kanji words.

Even the toilet looked fit for royalty, not that I knew what royalty was, but it was fitting from my imagination. _Parts and flickers of my dreams that would never reach._

And lastly there was the sink that was also completely made of glass. The tap was a shining, gleaming metal with two knobs at the side of it, used to adjust temperature.

The wall that the sink was flushed against was not exactly a _wall._ It was a huge plane mirror. It showed all sides and angles of my form when I stood in front of the sink.

But I wasn't looking at myself. I was dressed in my usual school uniform which I saw myself in practically everyday. What I was staring at was specifically at my neck. _The collar that Kakashi spoke about._

I comforted myself that he obviously wasn't lying – at least about the collar. It was magnificently beautiful. It was not solid black, but greying in places. Smack in the middle of it, running all around was an onyx colored band which held a black buckle at the side of my neck. I mused that that was probably how I supposed to take it off, _which I was so planning to_, no matter how beautiful the thing was. Decorated around the onyx leather were petals, specifically _sakura _petals. It was pale pink, faded. The color was not solid though, other parts red and white. It made me almost wish that my hair was that color instead. The petals gave a float-y feeling when she stared at them.

_SAKURA! CONCENTRATE!_

I broke out of my thoughts abruptly. And a determined light came into my eyes as instantly my hands came up to tug the (beautiful) collar off. The buckle was small, so I had to be careful. I couldn't even lift the spoke. I tugged softly, but quickly becoming frustrated, tugged harder. I pulled but it wouldn't come loose.

I let out a scream of frustration which I been keeping bottled up.

"HMHHPPM!"

I roughly shoved off the pink hair from my shoulder and angled my neck and head for a better view. I drew my bottom lip in between my teeth and chewed on it as I fiddled with the buckle of the collar.

_But the buckle just won't come loose._

My head missed banging against the mirror by a narrow inch when Kakashi's head popped out from the door and spoke, "only Sasuke would be able to get that off you."

Stunned by his voice, but angry at his words, I turned my head so harshly to face Kakashi's surprised face.

His brow furrowed further –

"…what?"

-when he heard how broken my voice sounded.

He could only nod solemnly.

I didn't want to see it though, my head swung back to face the mirror and I concentrated on preventing the tears that began to gather under my eyes to flow.

My hand came up and grasp around the collar, as if trying to will it off.

(_please God, if you really do love me, let me escape this nightmare)_

The tears finally came.

"Go back to your room. You should get a few hours of sleep first…before Sasuke's next visit upon you."

"…Kakashi… I have a question. Just one."

Kakashi turned to meet my stare in the mirror.

"…"

("Do vampires kill?"

"…Yes, they – _we_ – do.")

_Him._

* * *

I let my feeling of determination course through me when he next opened the door. On the contrary of Kakashi's advice, I stayed awake throughout the time I was locked up in the same room _again. Like hell, I can sleep anyway._

I sat in the hard-back desk chair, my feet swinging back and forth from the nervousness I couldn't hide. I faced the door which I guessed he would come from. Both my hands were placed neatly on my lap after I purposefully brushed my long pink hair onto my shoulders, hiding the collar as much as possible.

I had spent the hours that had passed thinking. _And thinking only._ What have I done to deserve this? My frowned deepened as my thoughts took on a dwelling turn.

I had tried, all my life to stop dwelling on the _notsohappymomentsinlife _and I could say that I had gotten pretty good in masking the sadness. But for now, I _dwelled._

I dwelled on _humans _and _vampires. _I dwelled on the fact that I was now someone's _slave. Or specifically, a mean arrogant and slightly egotistic vampire slave._ I dwelled and tried to contain my anger that I reminded myself of a _freaking pet – _with the collar and everything. It was pathetic if I could say so. A rational bout of anger rushed though me for the thousandth time today. I hated it. What ever happened to Sakura Haruno? The fighter? The one against the world – with her trusty sidekick, the beautiful best friend Ino Yamanaka? _All gone._

_(she was never the main character.)_

But now, everything I ever known is gone _down down down._ Where I would never be back again.

My hands clutched the material of my school skirt tightly, the worn down, over-washed material familiar and comforting.

I felt weak. As if I couldn't do anything but let someone else run my life.

_Everybody is entitled to live their own life._

Except if your name is Sakura Haruno.

I shook my head clearing my thoughts, a habit of mine. This was no time for negativity. Maybe there was still a fighting chance.

_Maybe._

_Maybe._

_Maybe this is a chance to prove myself-_

_-of my very own strength._

I found my own revived confidence and I let it manifest and build. Trying to fight the frown on my face.

* * *

(_say hello to the nightmare)_

* * *

I didn't even blink when the door swung open and that was the position Sasuke found me in. Sitting in the same hard-back (but comfortable) chair, hands holding tightly onto the material of my (familiar) skirt and the same expression of determination plastered on (hopefully).

If Sasuke was surprised about how I am not an emotional wreck and having a fit, he hid it well. I only managed to catch a glimpse of what I would describe as surprise _if he was human_. But since he wasn't, I didn't know what to expect.

He walked up to me. And smothered me in his overflowing confidence and arrogance. Something about him… he wasn't haughty or had a smug smile on his face. It was just his intoxicating presence. My breathing accelerated even though I have not moved from my seat.

As he walked on, I resisted the urge to push back my chair, as far as possible just to place that '_comfortable' _distance between us. My shoulders were so tense, it hurt.

My eyes automatically locked with his.

_Red?_

His eyes weren't prominent. It seemed that his whole face was prominent. Beauty, just some type of unexplainable beauty.

_No, onyx._

He walked with quick precise steps that never seemed to waver. I could hear his footsteps against the hardwood floor, but they didn't seem loud. Just there. (Just like I was.)

I had a strong feeling that he was the type of person who was really strong. _Strong vampire perhaps? Kakashi did say he was._

I refused to be scared and steeled my feelings.

When I pulled my attention away from his strange color-changing eyes, I realized that he wasn't empty-handed.

In his hand, he held a hanger – a clothes hanger.

When he reached the place I was sitting, standing four feet from me, he held it out.

I was curious, and my mind brought itself from the surroundings and his presence _and _just his _face – _to the clothes that dangled from it.

It was definitely a female cut. A two-piece sort of outfit. It was collared making it seem formal and mostly black and white. It was long-sleeved, with the ends ending in cuffs. The blouse didn't quite look like uniform; instead, it reminded me of those plain blouses that Ino wore to school on days of special occasion. Those that had a small pocket on one breast. Peeking from under the blouse was the ruffles of a short skirt. It was pure black with ruffles ending in white. It was short, definitely, somewhere in the middle of mid-thigh and just above knee. There were pockets with metal buttons.

I managed to stop wondering to find my voice. "What's that?"

His answer was quick, "A change of clothes."

I know that… I was wondering why I would need a change of clothes…!

"I already have clothes. I'm wearing it, see?" God what am I? I sounded like an idiot.

He seemed to read my thoughts, because his lips twitched upwards. But it was gone when I blinked so I couldn't be sure.

I don't know why, just he surprised me when he rolled his eyes. _Do vampires roll their eyes?_

I pretended that I did not hear the sigh that escaped out of his lips. "Your clothes are stained." He stressed and shoved, once again, the new clothes to my face. "Change and shower. I'll be back in twenty minutes."

The moment the words left his lips, I felt my legs unfolding and soon I was standing upright with the clothes in my hands.

He swiftly turned and left.

Staring down at the _change of clothes _I wondered what else in my life was going to change.

* * *

_My life would never be the same again._

_And I am pretty sure I am _not_ happy about that._

* * *

**I merged the second chapter and third together. It would have been mean of me to keep you guys in suspense wouldn't it. ;)**

**And I was wondering if anyone found my style of writing to be too draggy and unnecessary descriptions? Honest opinions please, I tend to ramble a lot even in my writing.**


	3. Nightmare

**Chapter 3! Was that quick or was that quick? Yes, yes, please show your appreciation since I made this FREAKING LONG. Reviews would be nice.**_  
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**Disclaimer:_ theforesttree_ does not own Naruto.**

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_Petals _of **Blood**

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(hello nightmare. My name is (zzzzht_-_).)

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Chapter 3

_Nightmare_

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_(the girl that didn't belong)_

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* * *

Sasuke. I didn't know what he's capable of, what vampires are capable of. _Yes…apparently they do exist, and of course every other part of life is a lie. _I nodded to myself savagely.

**Who was I?** As time passed in this _too big_ place I felt more like someone who had her freewill stripped away. Someone who had no ability to resist becoming some pathetic _slave_ to a heartless bastard. And I had no ability to leave.

I was familiar to the feelings of fear, and today I was treated with exceptional doses of it.

I fear for my _life._

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down, trying to convince myself that there was still hope. I was going to escape somehow.

My fingers tightened on the new material of the black skirt. How unfamiliar. But the clothes I came in with was really is ruined, I tried to reason with myself. Dirt, dry earth and small bloodstains dotted both my old school blouse and skirt. It's really quite a wonder how I bear to sit on this fine bed. How did Sasuke bear placing me on it, knowing that I would get the sheets dirty? That was probably why he was forcing me to change clothes – he didn't want me to dirty the bed.

I lifted my lids, showing the world the bright green eyes filled with…_something_. I liked to say determination, but then I would be lying.

_It's me against the world._

Twenty minutes… I blinked. How long was I staring into space?

I gingerly slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom with the clothes at hand – I didn't want another round of electrocution, at least not until I could figure out how to avoid it even while disobeying him. But until then…

I sighed and closed the bathroom door behind me.

* * *

(my name is Sakura Haruno – and I just had all my freewill ripped away)

* * *

Sasuke didn't want to admit it, even to himself – but he was intrigued.

Maybe that was the wrong word for it. He was…slightly less uninterested than usual.

He casted a quick glance to the human girl sitting beside him in the passenger seat of his car, looking so out of place as the car cruised along the road.

She was stiff and rigid. Her emerald eyes casted onto the road beyond the dashboard. Sasuke had not once caught her looking at him.

He was uncomfortable with interaction with humans. He hadn't even dealt with human targets much. He disliked being around them and hated that he was forced to.

But this girl was an exception. Nobody had forced him to be around her. And yet, he made her his slave.

She was sitting beside him. But it felt like they were worlds apart.

He drummed his fingers idly against the steering wheel. He recalled Kakashi's words: _Introduce her slowly into the vampire life. Let her get customized gradually._

He decided Kakashi was right, and it was best for her to understand the vampire world first. He needed her to understand, understand what was he all about before she could to escape.

So he was about to enroll her into the academy.

Sasuke glanced at her profile; face turned away, pink hair tumbling down her back and hands clasp tightly in her lap.

He looked back at the road as he smoothly drove the car.

They spent the whole journey in silence as the sun set over the horizon in the distance.

* * *

I was on high alert. Biting my lower lip incessantly, I realized that I didn't really know anything about Sasuke. It frightened me to be in the same vehicle as a vampire. _Even in my deprived childhood, I have heard of vampires, …I just never really believed in them._

What if he wasn't really a vampire? Maybe a psycho trying to screw with my mind and Kakashi was an accomplice? What if it's all just a cruel joke played on me because I stepped on his foot one morning on the bus or something?

I shook my head - I would have remembered Sasuke's face on the bus. _All of this sounds ridiculous in my head anyway. Why would he bother to screw with me?_

I kept my hands folded onto my lap, keeping still so as to not crinkle the cloth in a nervous habit. Even though I was unsure (I had a theory, but that's all it was, a _theory_ when he doesn't explain anything to me) and angry why he had made me put on another set of clothes other than my own, I had to admit that it was indeed comfortable. But it didn't look like something I would wear at all. It's too formal in its simplicity, fit perfectly and probably too expensive.

I didn't dare to lift my hands away from my lap, clothes were one thing… but the sleek black car with a foreign name isn't something I wanted to break with my clumsy hands.

I thought back about my day. All shocks and scares. _And really pretty boys, _Inner Sakura piped in. I glared at her. _This is so not the time to have a fantasy about boys. And he isn't really a boy is he?_

When I returned from showering and changing into the new clothes, I inwardly felt a little bit better. The shower was soothing to my senses.

He appeared out of no where, scaring the crap out of me while I was stuffing my dirty clothes into the sink full of water, hoping to get some of the dirt and blood out. His hand shot out and turned off the running tap even before I realized he was in the bathroom. He then ordered me to follow him. And I did, of course, unwillingly. Compared to the tap at the sink, he needed less effort to control me than an inanimate object.

Inner Sakura was speechless. And I stayed quiet, so tired of fighting.

"We reached. Let's go."

I shivered when he spoke, but quickly hid it.

Even though the words were rude, his voice was beautiful. Inhuman voice, people would think it was of angels.

They had no idea how _wrong_ they are.

"This academy has both humans and vampires." My head turned to look at him for the first time since we entered the sleek black car.

Sasuke's face was carefully blank. He wasn't looking at me and I was thankful.

"Normal humans here do not know that this school hosts vampires as well."

I thought about his words before the anger hit me and consumed everything in its path.

"How could you?" my voice was loud in the car, "They deserve to know…what type of creatures that they are going to school with!" Sasuke shifted his piercing orbs to my face. I had the hugest urge to flinch but I resisted, trying to calm my facial features into a more neutral tone.

We both didn't speak for a while - still in the car, with the engine humming so softly that I couldn't hear it well – just staring at each other. My harsh breathing was so audible as I tried to rein in my anger.

"Their ignorance protects them."

I glared fiercely. I lost the battle with my facial muscles.

"Then what protects me?"

Sasuke didn't blink. Not one single shift in his expression.

"Me."

* * *

As I stepped out of the car, my first thought was: It was _different_.

To an outsider, it may not look different.

To _me-_

someone who recently knew about vampires,

-it was scary.

The huge campus, which looked something like castles in Europe that I frequently saw in travel books and magazines, looked...old._ But beautiful._

It was already in the evening, so I guessed that this academy operated at night mostly. Strange, but this was not the first time I heard of night classes. But this whole school operated at night like a nocturnal owl. There were lampposts switched on at strategic places, lighting the grounds of the academy to make it seem ethereal and intimidating. The infrastructure was elaborate and looming, casting long shadows on the grassy fields and stone walkways.

At a first glance, it looked like any high-class academy for rich teenagers. Students loitered around within the campus talking to friends and trying to complete assignments. A few girls stood on the long steps of the entrance giggling wildly as they gossiped. A girl with her black hair put into a high ponytail sat languidly on the railing flanking the steps. A pair of boys in blue jerseys was throwing a football in the large field surrounded by a red running track next to the main administrative block.

But I knew that this school was completely different.

Some, the vampires, were so graceful it was painful to watch. The expressions and faces were laughing and talking as well but their eyes told of times where they had seen too much. Now that I know what to look for, it's easier to_ see._

The others, humans, remained completely oblivious.

They continued to taunt to mock to insult. They laughed at each other, thinking that all of them were the same.

I wondered briefly if Sasuke was right, whether they were better off not knowing. I thought back on my own experience, the reality that _my__ life would never be the same ever again._

I stepped a bit further from the brooding male to my left, looking at all the others,_ vampires and humans._

* * *

_(_the school's name was 'Jihibukai Academy'.)

* * *

"Uchiha did _**what**_ ?"

The blond woman was somber and she looked hard at the silver-haired man who stood in front of her, leaning on the wall beside his door.

"He grew up."

"Don't mess with me, Kakashi!" Her homely brown eyes glinted dangerously as she placed both of her palms on the table in front of her, getting to her feet quickly. "This is serious. Whatever Sasuke does now is _serious_." The female with a particularly big bust snapped at him. Her name was Tsunade.

"I know…I know. He got a slave." Kakashi nodded, his mask staying in place as he spoke, "Even asked me to help him find a particular one."

Those brown eyes narrowed, "the council had been offering strong vampires as his slaves for years…who was this _particularly_?" She stressed glaring at the man.

"Her name is Sakura Haruno. Pink hair, green eyes." Tsunade blinked and leaned back a little but still didn't sit.

"Never heard of her." Her voice drew down in volume as she plastered a thoughtful expression on her face.

"You do now." Kakashi stood up straight and with a hand on the doorknob of the office, he continued. "She's human." He opened the door and stepped out.

"**WHHHAT?!"**

* * *

"Welcome."

It was surprising to see Kakashi again. He wore the same mask and the same headband but in front of a classroom setting, it was disorientating, since when I last saw him, it was at the manor.

He was a teacher, apparently – he did stand in front of the board. But he wasn't looking at us but rather at a suspicious book with an orange cover.

I didn't know what to expect – Sasuke led me onto the school grounds, pushed me into the administrative office where an overly nice blond woman spoke to me about class schedules and lockers and meal times and then marked out the common places where students hanged out. She spoke as if she knew me all her life, patting my cheek when I was just about to go, passing me a few candies in plastic little wrappers along with my schedule and a school map. I walked out of the office confused once again.

I confronted Sasuke immediately. "In the office, the date was twenty-second. That can't be true, I collect my pay checks on the twentieth and that was still two days from yesterday." I think that was the most normal octave I had spoken to Sasuke with.

He blinked, and looked away, "You were unconscious for five days." He then began walking briskly to another brick building across the large courtyard. "Wait, what…" I sprinted after him, but it was difficult keeping up with his pace. He noticed and slowed his pace to accommodate me. I came beside him again.

"Five days…oh my god." Sasuke did not comment and had stopped walking down the corridor. He faced the wooden door that held the large bold plated numbers _401 _on its top right. He looked down at my bewildered face before a shadow passed through his eyes. I grasped for it, but it slipped and Sasuke was Sasuke again. "Go in."

The class was called _S.S 101_. I asked the overly friendly lady at administration what type of class it was, but she responded by smiling and gave me more candy.

When I entered the classroom, everybody stared. Well, not _at me._ At Sasuke actually. And I was the one with the _pink hair_.

_Like you don't stare at him too_, Inner Sakura said.

I walked in and Sasuke shut the door quietly behind me and probably left. When I turned around all I met was the wood of the door.

When I turned, the first thing I noticed was that every student in the class wore a collar.

* * *

(_and then again, I was speechless)_

* * *

Kakashi nudged me lightly on the back, with the back of his left hand – the other was occupied with the orange book.

"Hello."

I shrank back.

Kakashi's lone eye crinkled, as if he was hiding a smile. "Ah, sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to know what you thought about the class."

I pushed thoughts of _run-aways_ and escapes to the back of my mind. "Its weird, Kakashi-sensei." I told him truthfully, _its weird and it scares me and Sasuke scares me and all of this scares me please please tell Sasuke to let me go._

He paused to flip a page, but didn't look at me.

Silently, I thought back on the class that just ended. Kakashi-sensei and I were the only ones left in the classroom. Everyone else had left, some giving me lingering stares but I couldn't hear the whispers.

(_empty tables and chairs, setting sun, when are you going to go?)_

"Neh, why do you think that?"

Flip.

_The noises, the voices, the people. I hadn't caught up yet._

"All of them are slaves to vampires?"

His eyes didn't even lift from the page.

"Yes they are…all slaves to the young vampires of this school… about twenty or so in total."

I gulped and felt my head spinning a little. Why was everything going so _fast_? I felt like I was grasping at straws in midst of a hurricane storm.

_(My life is blurring past me.)_

"So you're not alone, Sakura. You have other friends you can make. Sasuke may also prove to be good company." He chuckled lightly at his own joke that I didn't get.

I felt the feelings of sadness and anger rushing up to meet me.

I spoke softly, slowly, not quite willing to hear the answer but needing to know all the same. "When can I go home?" _Not if. NEVER if._

Kakashi did look at me then. It was sympathy in his eye, I was sure.

"You can't."

_More, more, more feelings – rushing, rushing._

_I'm in the middle of a hurricane, and maybe everything around me is burning too._

I couldn't stand looking into his eyes anymore. I stared at the wooden desk in front of me instead. Written across the surface were mathematic equations, love confessionsand the occasional broken song lyrics.

"You belong to him now."

I didn't let the screams, the shrieks, the crying to spill from my mouth.

_(bottled, sealed, undelivered)_

I picked out a wooden pencil with a dark pink eraser on the top and roughly started scratching on the desk, not caring that there was a teacher standing in front of me and watching me do it.

I scratched out words, quickly, roughly and some parts ugly.

_**22 October – the day I lost everything**_

The sharp dropping of the pencil to the clean tiled floor was clear.

And the footsteps sounding throughout the room and then in the empty corridors were clearer.

* * *

I was walking down the corridors, head down, my plain white sneakers hardly making a sound but _of course_ everyone still unashamedly stared.

("oh hey, new girl with pink hair")

I kept on walking,

("did you see her just now?")

-ignoring everything-

("who in the world comes in middle of term?")

_-trying not to break._

_(of course, it didn't matter when I saw her again.)_

I stopped in my tracks along the corridor, my eyes going wide. I knew that voice anywhere.

It was shrill, girly and brought peace to my mind whether I heard it.

Automatically, I started walking faster, passing numerous half-filled corridors. Briefly, I caught a sight of dark hair, so black it was almost blue, but I didn't stop to take notice of Sasuke who was walking slowly towards me from the side corridor.

The corridors were long, and I had to take two turns as I got closer to the voice. The next corridor was where it got crowded. It was unbelievable how could I actually hear her voice over the commotion, but strangely this school seemed to be quieter than my previous school. Many people blocked my path to the girl with blond hair whom I knew anywhere.

("You have such nice hair.")

And of course the high-pitched girly voice that always coaxed me to stop crying.

("Aw, Sakura-chan, don't cry.")

And then her laugh. It was the same.

("…thanks Ino.")

_Ino._

And then she saw me.

_Shock._

_Confusion._

_Fear._

Her expression alone was enough to make me feel like crying.

_Did you lie to me?_

("We're friends right, Sakura?")

I walked slowly to her. She, doing the same to me.

I heard the clicks of her heels against the floor while my footsteps remained barely audible. We had stopped a several feet away from each other. Her eyes darted to and fro, staring at each of my emerald eyes.

"Sakura."

A door to another classroom opened and a gust of wind blew my hair around my face.

"…" I didn't speak. All I thought was: _why are you here? You shouldn't be here._

"What are you doing here?" Her eyes still housed her confusion and her voice was the same as I remembered. I heard it and felt relieved, like maybe all of _this _was alright. But it didn't last long.

"I could ask the same question." My voice was raspy as if I hadn't used it in a very long time. I felt like screaming and hugging her. Because I honestly, honestly missed her. _One of my greatest fears was not being able to see her again._

She didn't answer. The need of just hearing her voice again swelled up.

"…I thought you were going to Dachino…?" my voice varied too much. It was barely a whisper now. I clutched my hands in front of me.

Ino's eyes (baby blues that lots of boys fell in love with) darkened.

"…Sakura…?"

_Please explain. Please tell me that I heard wrongly. Say anything – anything believable._

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

"Talk Ino."

_Don't tell me you lied to me._

She stared at me – at my-

(_green green)_

-eyes, that were slowly becoming wet.

"You said you were going to Dachino…you said your parents opened a flower shop _on the other side of Japan _because of its better sales percentage or something like that… You said you'll visit me as soon as possible."

She still didn't say a word, staring fearfully into my eyes. _Why are you afraid of me? Why are you the one who is looking like the world has been pulled away from your feet?_

"…-but all along…you were here?" My voice, unsteady and wavering, cracked on the last word. I looked hard into her eyes, looking for the answer I wanted to hear, finding nothing but guilt and that same _fear_.

"Sakura…"

Don't say my name like that.

_Please._

I couldn't take it, my feeling are-

_-overflowing._

I turned and ran.

_Why are you here Ino…?_

* * *

The infrastructure of the school was nice. It was westernized which is rare to see in Japan. When I stared out of my first period class room, located on the fifth floor, I realized that I could indeed see the high-rise buildings of Tokyo in the distance. There was a billboard sign advertising Japan's largest mobile network, but it was the size of a cue card from the distance I was from it. Between the academy and Tokyo was a forest.

The dark bricks and black roofs of the school's structure completely contradicted the flowing cherry blossoms that constantly fell from the tall pink trees.

As I sat at the edge of the building, on the soft green grass covered in pink petals facing the lake surrounded by many cherry blossom trees, I never appreciated the beauty more.

But at the same time, with my head buried into my arms that rested on my kneecaps, and streaks of tears covering my cheeks, I never wished to be further from the beauty than ever.

_(Someone, anyone just fly me away.)_

It wasn't just about Ino lying to me. Seeing her here, I was more lost than ever.

(Because she is my best friend.

I don't need anyone else.)

Because, because, because.

With Ino here; in this world.

_The last world I knew wasn't home anymore._

(my best friend is all I have.)

_I didn't have a reason to run away anymore._

(if she's gone-)

_Both worlds would be the same, both-_

(-I'll have nothing.)

_-lonely._

If Ino was in the vampire world, the other one…it isn't home anymore.

Why did it turn out this way?

* * *

(high westernized buildings,

tall dark black metal gates,

floating pink petals,

crying girl with bright green eyes.

*click*)

* * *

He stood beside the glass ceiling-to-floor window with his hands fisted into the pockets of his black slacks.

There was an evident frown resting on his face.

He was watching her from his place by the stain-glass windows as the unnatural light of the lampposts outside shone light through them.

He knew what had happened with Yamanaka and he saw her run out of the school building. With his keen hearing, he caught most of their conversation.

He stared through framed criss-crossed and vertical with black metal glass window. But his eyes were captivated to the pink-haired girl.

He couldn't see her face, but he knew she was crying.

* * *

_How does it feel…_

_to have the only world,_

_you ever known,_

_be broken apart._

_Bit by bit._

* * *

I was _there - _confused, angry, hurt and just crying my eyes out.

This…this was one of the worse crying fits I ever had before.

Being an orphan, you might think I cry all the time just because of my parents. I can't say that I don't think of them, how they look like, who were they, what happened to them and simply whether they loved me or not. And of course, the usual 'would my life be better now, if I was still with them?' Simple questions but none were answered. Since I was young, I pestered Sasame-san to tell me more about my parents. She only told me that I was brought in when I was five…and that she didn't know anything.

Out of desperation, I continued to beg her to find out more. After several crying fits and a couple of years, I gave up.

Currently, Ino was the _only _constant I had in my life, someone I could rely on, someone to tell my secrets and worries to. I didn't have many friends in the orphanage. Most of the people there were younger than I was and I became more of a caretaker (maybe a mom) more than a friend.

I had made everything I loved and cared for be something involving Ino.

But now…

_There's nothing left._

And, I couldn't stop the tears from crying even when Inner Sakura repeatedly screamed at me to show no weakness.

It just wouldn't stop.

_What do I do now?_

* * *

His footsteps stopped right in front of her and he slowly sunk down into a squat to her level. He couldn't see her eyes, just bubble-gum pink strands of hair floating around in the breeze, the exact color of the petals that lay on the green grass around them.

He could see her shaking shoulders though.

"You must be Sakura-chan!"

She raised her head with a jerk at his loud voice, her hands immediately tightening around her legs. And a sob caught in her throat, coming out more of a gasp.

"Neh, you are really pretty," he talked louder than any average volume, even though he was taking a seat right beside Sakura. "But I bet you would be even prettier when you are not crying."

Sakura was silent, shocked and just staring that him, the boy with the azure blue eyes and obnoxious blond hair.

"So…you should smile Sakura-chan!" Sakura's bright green eyes were hidden as she took a particularly long blink, unsure if the person was really there.

Then, she asked the obvious. "Who are you?"

The blond grinned so wide that she thought his face was going to split.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

Sakura nodded lightly and replied half-heartedly just to be polite even though he obviously knew her name. "I'm Sakura Haruno."

His grin got bigger if that was possible.

"I know that already."

Sakura furiously tried to scrub away the tears on her cheeks but more would take their place. Her voice breaking, she spoke, trying _anything_ to get her mind off it. "How… do you k-know that?"

Naruto looked at her with such soft eyes that shocked her again. "I know Sasuke-bastard."

"Oh."

She wished for silence so she could focus on clearing the tears.

But Naruto didn't allow that. "How's life with Sasuke-bastard?"

The pink-haired girl's fist stopped rubbing at her eyes and she stilled.

That was a question she had no answer to. The words echoed in her head.

* * *

Onyx eyes held no emotion as he walked slowly across the grass covered in fallen leaves and pink petals.

Naruto heard him first.

The grin did not move from his face (even with the girl beside him still in mental-breakdown state).

Sasuke approached slowly.

She didn't hear him over her continuous sobs. Somehow, however, she managed to sense the presence (vampire, cold, arrogant, lonely, lonely,_ lonely) _and her heads lifted once again from her arms when he sat a foot away on her left.

She stared, tears brimming and spilling over from bright green eyes as she looked at him. Her hands rubbed fiercely at her eyes. "…Sasuke…?" Her voice was soft and broken.

He didn't turn to look at her and continued looking straight-ahead, relaxing to lean on the brick wall behind them.

On the other side of her, Naruto reached into his orange baseball jacket before producing a napkin. He held it out and Sakura took the napkin, somehow hesitantly and yet quick. Barely visible due to the creases on it, the words 'Ichiraku Ramen' was printed at the bottom. She dabbed her eyes, erasing evidence of weakness as much as possible.

And they stared off into the distance, strangely quiet – cause _hello? _Naruto was there – and Sakura had tears running down her face silently which she dabbed at with the napkin and Sasuke just stoic and expressionless.

But slowly, Sakura's tears slowed down, just a little.

* * *

_break my heart slowly,_

_Because the cracks you cause,_

_is making me shatter into pieces_

* * *

I stood at one end of the hallway, staring. What a strange day, in a strange school.

_Light to dark bricks that made the walls,_

_Black diagonal and vertical frames holding up tinted windows,_

_Dark colored wooden doors,_

_High high high ceilings_

People brushed pass my shoulders.

_Uzumaki, Naruto_

_Yamanka, Ino_

_Nameless, faceless-_

_Vampires, Humans_

They held books – textbooks - it was a school after all.

_Humanities,_

_Language Arts,_

_Physics 101,_

_Theoretical Arithmetic_

They all wore nice clothes, some more formal than others, all the way down to their footwear, people were wearing different things.

_Converse sneakers,_

_Ballet flats,_

_High-heeled boots,_

_Expensive leather_

He stood there, opposite end of the hall, looking back at me.

And there was _Uchiha, Sasuke._

* * *

And there was _them_.

"I received word," Tsunade kept her back towards them, "that Sasuke Uchiha has gotten something rather interesting…" Brown eyes hardened.

"And I suppose you want to make it your business?" Her voice was hard, like her eyes.

The woman who stood beside a man, similar ages it seemed, scoffed – and Tsunade hoped with a childish thought that it damaged her lungs. "Sasuke Uchiha has always been our business." The man beside her spoke, "The moment he became the last Uchiha in Konoha."

"Why does that matter to who he picks to be his slave?" Tsunade snarled, her anger getting the best of her.

The two elderly raised their eyebrows at the same time.

"Of course it matters. He is a royal – Uchiha family in fact. His slave was picked to be the best and then _this_ happens." Her distaste was thick like frozen syrup. "Tsunade-hime, are you and Kakashi-san… dare I say it _slacking _in your duties?"

The surface was the desk that Tsunade hand was rested on cracked a bit.

"I beg your pardon?"

The woman smirked and continued. "Really, changing his slave right now is no problem at all. We can easily find a better replacement who will be of more use to him."

"He might not even want to get her replaced."

"Sasuke's young, he doesn't care." The man said confidently and haughtily, dismissing the thought immediately.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "And how do you know that?", her voice was a voice of steel and anger.

The two elderly both smirked, the expression pulling at their pale, wrinkled faces. "Sasuke is only interested in news of his brother. He doesn't care about anything else."

_What do you know about Sasuke?_ Tsunade thought bitterly as she wished for her bottles of sake and blood.

* * *

_Can you hear the rain?_

_Can you hear footsteps?_

_Can you hear my – zzzzzzzht._

* * *

"Did you see her?"

"See what?"

"…it's _who _you stupid idiot. I am talking about _her."_

"Stop being so obnoxious. Who is SHE?"

"You are fucking stupid, you know that? Didn't you see the girl with the collar? She's one of them _slaves_."

"Slave? To who?"

"I don't know…yet. Take a deep whiff. _Don't you smell her?_"

"…"

That's right. Her. The new slave girl."

"…"

"I thought so."

* * *

I stood outside of my locker, absentmindedly shuffling all the new books around. The locker was empty of anything other than books. I just finished sixth period, still on my first day. Is this day ever going to end? I was so tired, now realizing that I had spent the entire night awake and then some. But of course, I did sleep five days straight before… I shook my head, how in the world did I sleep for so long, I never did before.

I looked up again, shifting my math book to a higher shelf. I glanced at my reflection from the mirror on the door of the locker. Blinking, I examined my own reflection, tilting my head slightly as my right hand held the locker door open and my left still held my math book. I had my own flaws. My eyes were a bit _too _big, matching my large forehead that I had been continuously been teased about. I also had a small scar that ran along the loop of my right ear, not easily seen but still visible when my hair was lifted, a memory of childhood.

With the added stress and anxiety, I had dark rings around my eyes and my lips felt stiff and unsmiling. Putting my math book down, I raised my hands to my cheeks to slap some life into them.

A hard tug on my shoulder made me whirl around, shocked. Despite the mirror, I hadn't seen that coming.

A boy.

That's was the first thought that popped into my head. But when I casted my eyes up onto his face and looked at him licking his lips, I corrected my thought. _A vampire._

I felt a stab of genuine fear as his grip on my shoulder tightened and when I scanned the hallways, a quick desperate look around, no one was in the hallway other than me and the person currently killing my shoulder.

"What's your name?"

I shivered involuntary and out of annoyance and desperation, I knocked the hand that was gripping me, hoping to get it off.

No such luck.

The boy chuckled, "Now that's rude. It isn't that difficult telling me your name don't you think? Mine's Taguchi." His grip tightened as he grinned.

_Nice to know, but not really._ That was what I would have said if this person were human. Instead, all that came out was: "Get your hands off me." To my horror, my voice was soft, no louder than a whisper behind closed doors and I shifted so my bangs covered my eyes. His stare was making me feel more uncomfortable. I started the chant in my head - _don't be afraid, don't be afraid._

I could feel his eyes staring at me. I sneaked a peek, hoping to see someone walking down the halls but all I saw was the look in his brown eyes that he didn't bother hiding. I realized suddenly that _Sasuke never looked at me like that._

"No can do. You have no idea how curious everyone around is. So, whose are you?" He took a deep breath, taunting me.

I kept silent, running through ideas and thoughts of escape in my mind and still furtively casting glances around.

"You see, the identify of your master is something that everyone is curious about." His grip moved from my shoulders to my arms as he took a small step back, looking at me from head to toe, "You're human so it shouldn't be anyone hard to subdue. I'm sure your master wouldn't mind me having a taste." He grinned, his lips pulled back against his teeth. "Like he can do anything about it." His voice was low and raspy.

I tried again, "Let go of me." My voice was not loud but it was clear. I really wanted him to leave me alone.

He raised his eyebrow and smiled a hideous smile. He didn't release me, but leaned in instead.

And suddenly, his hands jerked off me, his nails scraping my shoulder, tearing the cloth cleanly and leaving three thin lines. My skin remained untouched. His steps echoed loudly as he hastily drew backwards. My eyes were wide when he strangely turned and stalking away briskly, not casting a backward glance.

At the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a reflection of a dark shadow in the mirror of the opened locker door.

Quickly, I turned but saw nothing.

* * *

The stone corridor remained empty of people just like many other corridors in this school. It seemed like this academy was a lot larger than I thought. This corridor had a row of large lockers flushed against its side, creating a sharp contrast of shiny metal and the stone structures of the building. Not the first time, I wondered how old the academy was.

Shrugging, I turned back to my assigned locker and ruffed through the manila envelope the receptionist at the administration building had given me. I pulled out my schedule, peering at it to find my last period.

_Physical Education and Self-Defense – Sports Complex Level 2, Gymnasium 01._

Oh wow. Self-defense; I could totally use some of that, especially about six days ago.

Flipping the papers inside the manila envelope again, I quickly pulled out the school map. Scanning briefly I nodded my head in accordance to my previous thoughts. This school was very large; at least four times my previous high school. Thankfully, the receptionist circled the location of my locker on the map in bright green ink so I instantly knew where I was. _Sports complex…Sports complex…ah, here it is._

My brief happiness I felt when I located the sports complex on the map deflated as I noted it was practically on the other side of the school. Damn this large school to hell.

Groaning, I placed all of my books back into the locker, stuffed the map into the small pocket of my skirt and closed my locker door smoothly. I began walking down the hall, shivering. It was getting cold, spring was ending and the clothes I wore did not protect me much. Not for the first time, I wished for my own clothes. The academy, although very rich, did not spend the pretty dime to keep the grounds toasty and warm. Most of the connectors between buildings were open-air walkways and the corridors in school either had openings in the stone or brick to make windows with no glass or frames or had stain-glass windows. The ending result was a really pretty academy but it was not the warmest.

I walked briskly down the corridor into the open air, naturally leading me onto the stone walkway that cut across a courtyard with picnic tables arranged randomly. There were a few other students around this area. Most stared as I walked past, gossip flew behind me. Was it really necessary to treat me as if I was scum beneath their shoes? I tried to take no notice since it was typical behavior towards new students. No one approached as I walked into the next set of buildings, moving towards the sports complex.

The sports complex building stood slightly away from the others, connected by a sheltered brick walkway, it was shorter than the other buildings, maybe six or seven stories tall. It was flanked on the left by a huge field that was probably used for football and smaller courts for tennis and basketball. On the right, there was the soccer field with a red running track surrounding it. I honestly did not think they needed that much space just for sports. The sports complex looked like a new addition to the academy, the brick and stone was framed by metal support pillars and had granite steps, creating a strange sense of contrast with new and old. Talk about unnecessary money being spent.

Standing on the steps facing me was a familiar head of blond. Naruto had a sunny smile plastered on his face which I had suspicions was his default facial expression. Just that smile of his made you want to smile back. In front of him was presumably a girl, judging from the long midnight black hair that fell down her back to her thighs. Her hair shimmered under the streetlights and just based on Naruto's expression, I knew she was beautiful.

She turned slightly and I caught sight of the side of her face. Even though, I was expecting her to be beautiful, my self-esteem took a plunge down a deep crevice. She was very pale, with soft features and white eyes with equally white irises. She was wearing a purple feminine jacket with white sleeves that hugged her figure nicely. She wore dark purple long pants that reached just above her ankles and high-heeled sandals. She had a tiny grin on her face that spoke of the volumes of her love for the boy in front of her.

Naruto looked up and started waving crazily. Blinking, I realized he was waving at me. I raised my hand to wave back awkwardly but not before the dark-haired girl turned fully to face me. Her grin morphed into a polite smile as she too raised her hand timidly to wave.

_Such strange people._ I thought as Naruto strode towards me to grab the hand I had raised before unceremoniously dragging me towards the other girl. "Hey!" Naruto ignored my outburst and in no time I was standing on the granite steps as well. "Hi."

"Hello." The girl's blunt bangs shifted slightly on her forehead as she inclined her head to greet me.

"Hinata, Hinataaa! This is the girl I was telling you about," Naruto dropped my hand in order to raise both his arms in my direction to indicate that he was indeed talking about me, "Sakura-chan!"

Hinata's smile broadened slightly as she held out a slim hand for a handshake, "Please to make your acquaintance, Haruno-san. I'm Hinata Hyuuga." I folded my hand into hers while saying, "Hello. Just call me Sakura." My feet shuffled a bit as I smiled a shy smile of my own.

"Do you know that you have the whole shy, demure pretty thing going on?" Belatedly, I clamped the hand she released onto my mouth. I didn't realize I actually said that out loud.

Naruto guffawed while Hinata seemed surprised. "Of course! Hinata is the prettiest." Naruto paused in his compliment to look at me with twinkling eyes, "Not that you aren't Sakura-chan. Especially with that mouth of yours." Hinata sent him a reprimanding look before turning to me again. "Thank you." Her voice was soft and her smile softer. Looking at her, I didn't feel embarrassed since my statement was the truth.

"We should not let Sakura-san be late for class on her first day." Hinata said.

I nodded, going up the steps to reach the glass doors of the sports complex's main entrance as Naruto launched into a steady stream of chatter.

The three of us walked to the elevator before Naruto punched the button. The doors opened with a ding and I stepped into all wood and mirror elevator. Naruto punched the button for the fourth floor and as the elevator doors closed smoothly, I reached past him to press for the second floor.

"You up for self-defense class, Sakura-chan? It's pretty tough, you know. They don't go easy on newbies. No one appreciates someone else breaking his or her face. Just last week that guy got a punch that broke his collarbone. What was his name again? Hiroshu? Hirosaki?" Naruto said. I looked up at him. He was looking genuinely puzzled.

"Hiroyuki. Hiroyuki Kano." Hinata spoke, her lips barely moving.

"Thanks for the warning." I murmured before I stepped out of the elevator after the doors had opened to the second floor. When I turned back to glance at them, I saw Naruto's arm around Hinata before the doors closed. It was then that I noticed the contrast between them. Hinata was so pale it was if she never stepped out into the sun before while Naruto looked tanner, a healthy dose of browning in his features. Thinking back, Naruto was the only vampire I knew who was not pale. _Hinata…Sasuke…even Ino._

I tuned back into my surroundings. There was a set of double doors but other than that, the only thing in this room was a movable noticeboard that held up two large pieces of A2 paper.

**List of Basic Self-Defense Class Students (Seventh Period)**

_**Location: Sports Complex, Level 2, Gymnasium 01**_

**Abukawa Hitoki**

**Akechi Nanami**

**Chikamatsu Reika**

**Deguchi Dachi**

**Endo Hiroshi**

**Haruno Sakura**

**Hayashida Manabu**

**Hiroyuki Kano**

**Idane Sayuri**

**Kozu Akio**

**Nakazawa Tomoko**

**Otani Toshiro**

**Rock Lee**

**Sasada Daisuke**

…

The list went on, it was a pretty big class. I went down the list curiously, spotting a name that seemed familiar.

**Wantanabi Ami**

_Ami Wantanabi. Tachira Wantanabi._ They could be related. Maybe they were siblings or cousins. Hopefully, they did not have anything in common other than their last names. Tachira hated me, what are the chances of Ami Wantanabi hating me too? I sighed.

**List of Advance Self-Defense Class Students (Seventh Period)**

_**Location: Sports Complex, Level 4, Gymnasium 03**_

**Aburame Shino**

**Aihara Kitsune**

**Akito Taguchi**

**Akito Masaru**

**Hyuuga Hinata**

**Hyuuga Neji**

**Inuzuka Kiba**

**Muraoka Shigeko**

**Nara Shikamaru**

**Noda Kazuya**

**Omori Satsuki**

**Sato Ren**

**Tenten**

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**Uzumaki Naruto**

**Yamanaka Ino**

…

The list continued, just as long as the list for the basic class. All the vampires I knew were in the advance class. Did being a vampire make you a better fighter? They probably did have better reflexes and was not as breakable.

Feeling anticipation build up in my gut, I pushed open the large double doors to reveal a large group of people crowded in the gymnasium. The basic class had about thirty students. Standing near the bleachers was a woman of average height, spiky hair pulled into a short ponytail and she had a stick that pierced only one dango which she tapped on her knee without a rhythm.

"You suckers ready? Or do I have to wait until some of you grow some balls?" She clucked her tongue before smacking her lips together loudly, "if it was so, we will all be here _forever_."

Her hand moved and the next thing I knew, an empty dango stick struck the hardwood of the floor where it stayed near someone's feet clad in high boots. I looked up to see a petrified girl. She had mousy-brown hair, promiscuous clothes and her mouth opened in shock, the top lip lined with red lipstick whereas the bottom remained unpainted. She had a compact mirror open which she was previously using to apply her lipstick.

"Go change and we'll get started." The dango woman smiled, her tongue licking her lips.

* * *

Ino Yamanka hated the feeling of confusion. It just didn't seem right, being useless or unsure. She didn't even know what to do.

She realized she often had this feeling with Sakura.

Sakura taught her many things without meaning to. Of course, Sakura didn't realize that Ino needed lessons on how to treat human beings without making them think you were some bloodsucking beast.

Ino was a vampire since she was born. Sakura just didn't know it-

-Until quite recently.

Ino cared greatly about that human girl. Humans called it friendship and Ino had grown quite attached to that word. She knew quite a lot about humans and their habits now - enough to make her a believable actress. She was warm, caring just…humane. And she had to thank Sakura for that, Sakura treated her with so much humanity that it seeped from her and shone on Ino as well.

Sakura was a good person, and Ino did not want her to have any part in the vampire world.

_She wasn't supposed to be here._

For a moment, Ino thought Sakura had followed her. But then again, Ino told Sakura that she was moving to the other side of Japan, far far far away from where the two best friends once lived. Sakura did not know she was here.

And now Ino had hurt her. That was obvious from the tears she distinctly saw.

Ino shifted her weight on the picnic table she was sitting on, leaning more towards the man who had his face in the fold of his arms with his hair sticking out distinctly in a pineapple style.

"Shika…why was she here?"

The dark-haired boy beside her raised his head off the picnic table and with his eyes half-open half-shut, he looked at the blond with blurry eyes. "Did you see her neck?"

She ignored his yawning and thought carefully.

"…No I didn't."

"She had a collar on."

_Thud._ The picnic table collapsed sideways and Shikamaru was left sitting on the grass, his legs sprawled apart.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" People around the courtyard where the picnic tables stood stared but shrugged it off as 'he-called-her-fat' situation. Shikamaru ran a hand across his face tiredly, pushing himself off the ground.

"Ino, keep your voice down." The said girl took a controlled breath, and sat down next to him, unconsciously leaning very close towards him.

"What?" She was quieter, but her voice held a deadly tone, that betrayed the humanity façade she painted on so carefully. She sounded more vicious, more like a vampire than when she was screaming.

"Her neck had a collar. One of those collars." He turned his head to look at her. Her face was only inches away. He whispered lazily, and she felt it on her lips. "It was well-defined and had lots of colors. It's a powerful one."

He watched her expression with his eyes still half-opened. He watched her eyes, her face - _just her._

Her eyes glinted and she breathed her own word. "Who?"

"Is there anyone else really?" Shikamaru sighed. "Sasuke."

With that, Ino had taken off.

* * *

Sasuke had heard her before she appeared around the corner.

Ino had a certain strut to her steps as she walked down the stone corridor towards the Uchiha. It spoke of self-confidence and agility. She placed on high-heeled foot down one after the other and quickly closed the distance between the two of them. He inwardly compared it to Sakura's quiet, stable steps - like a heartbeat.

Ino Yamanaka stopped about a short distance away, just enough for him to hear her from the stained-glass windows.

"What did you do…?" Sasuke opened his eyes and looked impassively at her.

Ino felt a wave of uneasiness flow over her-

_This was Sasuke Uchiha._

-but she hastily shoved that unwanted emotion aside, instead letting her rage fill her.

Then she started shrieking.

"How could you?!" Sasuke didn't move. "Do you have _ANY _idea who…who she is?" From her shouting, Ino's face should have flushed red but it didn't.

"Sakura Haruno."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow when Ino growled.

"EXACTLY. She is Sakura. _My friend. _How could you do that to her?! Making her your slave…are you trying to _kill_ her? You _can't _do this!" Something flashed in his eyes but it was gone before Ino could read it.

Ino continued, trying to force a reaction out of Sasuke, her hands on her hips, "She is humanand fragile. She's _Sakura_. I have been friends with her for three years. One more push, just one more, and she is going to break." Coincidentally, her voice wavered and broke on the last word.

Ino felt anger directed at herself. Who was she to talk to Sasuke like that? Telling him not to hurt Sakura when she so obviously hurt her not long ago with her lies and omission of the fact that she was a vampire all along.

"She's stronger than you think she is." Sasuke's tone was flat and matter-of-fact, but inwardly he was angry with the blond vampire.

"Don't…just don't. Remove that collar and stay away from her_. Stay away. _Leave her alone." Resentment stirred in the baby blue eyes of hers, darkening the light color. "Why do you want her as a slave anyway? She does not know how to fight and she doesn't any special abilities. Sakura will get hurt before you have any use for her."

"Hn."

Ino glared at Sasuke. It was almost humorous; how passive Sasuke was compared to Ino who was blowing her top like an active volcano.

"Just leave her alone."

"I can't." He spoke simply, not giving away his emotions.

She recoiled violently, as though some invisible force knocked her chest.

"WHY NOT?"

The ring glinted in the sunlight as the first lights of dawn streamed through the windows, only his hand was in the ray of light, both his and Ino's figures were hidden in the shadows.

Sasuke shifted, he wasn't at ease giving out this information but he knew Yamanaka was not going to back down. He glared hard, warning flashing in his onyx eyes. "She's my taisetsu."

Eyes wide and feeling as though her stomach was lodged in her throat, Ino choked out. "_Beloved...?"_

* * *

**And so it begins.**_  
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**I'll answer any questions that I deem okay for me to answer. So please review or PM me. :)**

**Tell me your thoughts! I love to hear them.**

**-theforesttree-**


	4. Wayward Thoughts

**It's here! Longest chapter yet. More Sakura being confused - but less hysterical. :)**_  
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**Thanks for all the reviews that wished me well this time - I'm happy to be back too.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto!**

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_Petals_ of **Blood**

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Chapter 4:

_Wayward Thoughts & Tricky Hearts_

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* * *

I hurriedly changed into a pair of shapeless yoga pants that one of the other girls let me borrow and a brand new physical education t-shirt that I found folded neatly in the metal locker allocated to me, trying to avoid the mass of hairspray, makeup and not-fully clothed girls. The t-shirt was slightly too large but it was comfortable. Many of the other girls wore other not-school-related t-shirts and shorts.

I slipped the blouse and skirt that Sasuke gave me into the metal locker and slid the lock close. Walking to the doors, the wooden bench proved to be a threat to my personal safety (I almost tripped over it) when a girl came barreling her way into the locker room, hair in a tangled mess (Ino would have described it as sex hair) and her breaths coming out in hoarse pants.

"Finally you're here - couldn't take your hands off Kimimoto?" High girlish giggles infested the room as many of the girls started laughing at the newcomer.

The girl stood straighter and in a fluid motion, she smirked and threw her light blond hair over her shoulder, "Of course. Who wouldn't want a piece of _that_? The boy is _more_ than fine. I wouldn't mind missing the _entire _period." Her voice was sultry and now it was obvious where she had been prior to prancing in here.

Not needing to hear anymore, nor wanting to, I walked a wide berth around the girl and out of the locker room, but not before I caught sight of the result revealed by the action of flipping her hair: her neck had a deep, slightly bleeding bite that was too serious to be just a hickey.

I shivered and looked away immediately. So that was the truth.

"Inuzuka! I see you're back. You're on the fourth floor. Get your tardy ass there." Anko-sensei snarled, her voice booming across the gymnasium, and I could hear it from my spot outside of the locker rooms even though the intended audience was near the entrance doors.

The boy had brown hair and black eyes. He was smiling like he found the entire situation hilarious, his mouth curved upwards into a wide grin that reminded me of my neighbor's dogs lazing in the shade on a hot summer day. "Oi! Anko!"

Anko smiled a sinister smile back. "I think Gai is making the advance class do reps today. _Five hundred_ pushups for the warm-up." She said innocently but the wild twinkle in her eyes made me think of ravaging demons and the River Styx.

I cautiously walked to the middle of the gymnasium where most of the other basic class students have coagulated.

The boy laughed good-naturedly, turning back to the doors of the entrance, he drawled over his shoulder, "You're not making me any happier to go back to that creep. I _much_ rather stay around here and watch you smack around fresh meat."

Anko laughed a sadistic laugh that sent shivers down my spine, looking at the group of students with purple eyes full of pure amusement, she spoke back to the boy in the same drawling tone without looking at him, "Now - now…maybe you could help. These _fresh meats_ don't know how to throw a proper punch without landing on their ass even after months of training. Such an ungraceful bunch of cretins if you ask me." Her eyes zeroed in on me and under her scrutinizing stare, all my muscles snapped tightly into place. "We have a new girl today…why don't you spar with her? It would be a good _experience_ for her and much _enjoyment_ for us."

Wait, what? _Holy shit_. The new girl…_that's me_!

The boy turned his attention to me, although he couldn't possibly know whom she was referring to. I was cowering behind a pair of boys trying to go unnoticed. "Oh, sure, the pleasure's all mine. Anything to get away from Gai's reps." The boy pulled a face.

Hands started grabbing my arms and pulling me forward to stand in front of the group of students. I casted my furious eyes onto the traitors, imploring them to combust on the spot. _I knew I could trust no one. These people just threw me to the dogs! _

"Hi." The boy stopped directly in front of me, a bit off invading my personal space, holding a hand out in front of me. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka. Call me handsome… or Kiba." His voice was loud in the deafening silence of the gymnasium. Everyone was holding their breath and waiting for me to get pounded to death.

I held out my hand (unfortunately it was shaking), more than slightly dazed, "My name is Sakura-" the breath gushed out of my lungs as he expertly took my hand then my arm and the next thing I knew he flipped me to the tatami-lined floor. "-_Haruno!_"

He grinned down at me, his face playful and he was showing his too-sharp canines, "I know."

I struggled out from his grip and shot to my feet, placing my hands out in front of me in a don't-attack-me gesture while backing away. "A spar isn't a great way to meet someone…maybe we could go out for tea…?" I asked meekly.

He threw his head back and laughed, "Sorry kid, this is how it works around here."

The next few seconds were a flurry of well-aimed punches and kicks. I didn't manage to avoid _any_ of them, but they barely hurt, just a light pressure. It was then I knew the difference between our fighting abilities. Kiba was so experienced that he knew exactly how much power to pack into his punch so I wouldn't bruise but I would never doubt that he could have sent me sprawling into next week's Friday.

I stumbled out of his range quickly, breathing heavily and breaking out in a slight sheen of perspiration. It was the adrenaline that had my heart pumping, I barely moved from my previous position at all while Kiba stalked around.

Kiba fought like a well-trained police dog. He used his legs well, taking long strides to close the distance and get up all in my face as much as possible, and had his arms extended most of the time, not keeping his elbows close to his sides.

He straightened before hunching slightly, his eyes flickered from my face to my feet, as if he was planning to lunge for them to make me trip. _But that's not what he was going to do,_ I thought.

Deception. That was what he was going to do, and somehow I knew it.

He sunk into a slight crouch and _pounced_. I was barely able to get my arms up in front of my face protectively as I ducked into a squat, curling into a ball. Half my mind was on praying that he didn't eat my face. The other half was out of commission.

I heard his laughter and then his hands were on my arms, pulling me up.

Tentatively, I put my arms down, confused, looking up to see him regarding me with a thoughtful look. "You knew." He said simply before dropping his hands from my shoulders.

Anko-sensei came up to us and suddenly I was conscious of all the stares the other students were giving us. "Hmm…your reflexes are _horrible _- an overweight elephant would be faster than you. You'll be dead by now if Inuzuka actually packed a punch." Anko-sensei said lightly as if she was discussing the weather or the song lineup of Les Misérables. "_But_- at least you got instinct. Horrible first try Haruno, but you just may be teachable."

She turned back to address the rest of the class, completely ignoring my baffled expression. "Five rounds on the outdoor track! If you don't collapse, you're not running fast enough!" There was a spontaneous round of loud groaning and complaining as the students shuffled out of the gymnasium.

I looked from them to Anko-sensei and then finally to Kiba. He winked at me conspiratorially before smoothly dodging the group of students, disappearing behind the doors.

_What just happened?_

* * *

_I'm wishing upon a non-existent star._

* * *

Sakura tiredly shuffled out of the car, wresting the stack of books in her arms. She never felt so tired after just going to school before. She was _exhausted_. Sighing, she let out a brief tense grimace – vampire school was tough.

She shifted the books in her hands – which were unceremoniously dumped onto her as "reading materials". She struggled, trying to keep her chin above the tall stack of heavy books, which proved to be difficult with her short height. And _Pure Mathematics Vol. II_ was poking uncomfortably into her stomach.

Sasuke glanced her way from the hood of the car and she thought it seemed that maybe he would help…

He abruptly turned away from her gaze and continued the walk up the marble steps. She huffed and then the steps took up all her concentration. The small chips in it appearing from time – imperfection but so _perfect –_ caused her to stumble a little.

_("You're so useless. You can't even carry plates huh?"_

"…_I'm sorry Sasame-san. I'll clean it right away."_

"_Stupid worthless girl.")_

Her white shoes squeaked against the marble flooring as she picked up pace, catching up and then childishly passing him on the top step. She leaned her weight against the heavy doors - to be independent, to show that she didn't need _his _help. She would show him. She despaired that she always ended up showing him her most inadequate side.

_(I don't need you in my life._

_I don't.)_

He made a soft sound in the back of his throat that made her feel like blushing - from anger of course - before sliding a hand just short of her neck and holding the black handle before pushing it with ease.

Sakura caught herself just before she crashed to the floor.

The couple of books that thumped to the floor made Sasuke's ears ring. He could have caught it before it hit the polished floor, definitely he _could_. But he didn't.

A frown slid into place on Sakura's previously determined face, she was upset by the betrayal of the books she was holding.

Her eyes narrowed as it zeroed onto the thick textbooks.

Sasuke spared an indifferent glance to her face.

Feeling his gaze, she stubbornly stepped (stumbled) over the books on the floor, still clutching the other books that didn't fall and cause her embarrassment. She tried to ignore the indifferent eyes that she could feel on her.

_(Don't look at me._

…

_I might break.)_

It had only been about one day since she was conscious around him. But damn, she felt his presence _crushing_ her slowly whenever he was in the vicinity. Sakura wanted very much to throw the books at him, to scream all the injustice she has felt until she couldn't scream anymore. Then she'll drink a cup of water and scream all over again. She would do it, if only she wouldn't get electrocuted with the effort.

Climbing the grand staircase to go to the room she was in last night, she pushed it far to the recesses of her mind. 'It' being the thoughts of _not going home, _thoughts of _being a slave, _thoughts of _belonging to Sasuke._

She was in denial. She knew.

She also didn't like it being shoved in her face.

Sasuke was still stoic as ever as she walked. He made her want to scream all the obscenities that she knew of.

Sasuke took a soundless step towards the three books on the floor, looking down at it calculatingly before his gaze was directed to her retreating back.

And he strode to his room without looking back at the books scattered on the floor and the pink haired girl that was giving him a headache.

* * *

Sakura, after going back to fetch the books she had dropped, went back to her 'room' to dump it all over the desk.

She stared down at the innocent books that had caused her so much grief and unknowingly her thoughts drifted to the questions that she had brewing in the back of her mind the entire day (or night if you wanted to talk specifics).

She didn't even know what this slave job entailed. Shopping for groceries? Cleaning? Washing? Or… _darker _things?

Sakura shivered and mentally slapped herself.

_Sasuke wouldn't ask her to do anything she didn't want to do would he? _God, she didn't even know the guy. She didn't know exactly whether he would be capable to ordering her to go against her will. She lingered on her thoughts, letting one imprint on her confused and chaotic mind.

_What did she know about Sasuke?_

_Nothing._ Sakura realized. _Nothing at all._

How does one know what to think about a person when she didn't even know the person?

With all her thoughts of running away and escaping out of balcony windows, Sakura never entertained the thought of actually not resisting and _maybe_ staying in the large manor with Sasuke, the boy (_man?_) who was secretive; perhaps a dark 'tortured' soul and a lot dangerous.

If she ran, where would she go? Back to the world that she knew were full of lies?

Sasuke had coveted.

Sasuke had assaulted her.

Sasuke had squished her freewill.

But Sasuke had never _lied_ to her. He told the honest, horrible truth.

If she went back to where she came from, would she ever be able to forget _this_?

Sitting on the bed and putting her hands into her pink hair, Sakura thought hard and imagined the scenario in her mind's eye. She wasn't confident of resisting the urge to whip open a street directory and looking for the large manor just to prove that this experience was _real_.

And even if she were to leave… would it be worth it? Was her previous life anything that she wanted to hold on to? Other than Ino, she didn't have any other lasting acquaintances that she couldn't bear to part with. No one knew her on a personal level.

Now that she had learned that Ino belonged _here_, in this world, did she really want to leave? Even if Ino did crush her heart pretty badly less than a day ago, she was still Sakura's dearest best friend.

And if she left, it would be logical that she wanted to put the vampire world behind her and into the past, never once to ponder of it. If she left, Sasuke would be a past – Ino would remind her of vampires and him.

Could she really do it?

Another thing was that annoying collar - how would she get it off? She really didn't want to wear a collar for the rest of her life.

Would she be able to leave the vampire world after all?

_Did she want to leave?_

Before Sakura realized, she was already in too deep.

Sakura felt tears sticking to the palms of her hands when she pressed them to her face as she grew increasingly frustrated.

She was angry with Sasuke for making her so confused - sometimes… sometimes he was treating her like an actual person and then suddenly he just doesn't _see_ her anymore. In the car, it had been so _tense_ - she felt that if she leaned forward, just another inch, she would hit her nose against the invisible and impenetrable surface that separated her and Sasuke. Sasuke had stayed silent as well, caught up in his own thoughts.

She was angry with Ino who she thought was her best friend. She thought Ino told her _everything_. She was angry at Ino because the blonde had made her think that everything in her life less than seven days ago was a lie.

She was angry with herself for even thinking about _maybe _staying in this world because when really had she become so _weak_? She should _want_ to leave, every single cell in her body should be fighting its hardest to leave this place. But a small part in her heart somewhere was shouting that _she didn't really have anywhere else to go to anyway_, and that part was getting louder and louder.

Sakura shifted herself into sitting position, reaching over to the bedside table she grabbed another slice of the remaining bread on the plate and brutally shoved it into her mouth.

Chewing slowly while lying on the bed and crying softly, she tried not to imagine the ceiling crumbling and falling on top of her, although her heart felt like it was being crushed by the sheer weight of all her half-hopes and wishing that couldn't be considered wishful any longer.

* * *

_trust you?_

_can I trust you?_

_but… I don't want to trust you._

* * *

My right arm feeling numb and the beginnings of pins and needles, I opened my eyes, belatedly realizing that I must have cried myself to sleep.

Pushing myself upright, my eyes slowly adjusted to the light emitted from the table lamp. _Strange, that wasn't turned on yester- before I went to sleep. _Crunching up my face, I repeatedly reminded myself that I went to school in the night and slept in the day. _That is so unhealthy._

What time was it? I looked at the window only to see that the heavy velvet curtains were drawn closed. Sighing because now I had no choice but to get up, I untangled my limbs and walked to the window, pushing aside the royal blue curtains impatiently. It was dark out, the sky tinged with a hint of blue, signaling that it was just after sunset. Twilight.

I frowned. I had slept for a long time.

It was a Friday so I probably had to go to the academy again. Just thinking about my previous day had me feeling exhausted and my limbs dragging despite the many hours of sleep I managed to get.

I wrenched open one of the double doors connected to the room, hoping to find the bathroom, but instead the doors led to the walk-in closet.

A walk-in closet that I remembered to be _empty_.

A lone rack near to the door was filled with assortments of clothes, a sudden array of bright colors. Examining closely, I recognized the dark blue wash of my favorite jeans and some of my prized graphic tees.

_Holy crap. How did my clothes end up in here? _

I shuffled through the pathetically small assortment as if it held the answers of the world, raising my right eyebrow when I noticed all my school uniforms missing.

Going through the collection once again took no time at all and by then I was slightly freaked out. All the clothes on the rack were the ones that fit me perfectly and in relatively better condition. The clothes that had holes and tears in the cloth were missing.

My mouth dropped open in surprise as I gave a little shriek when I realized what that meant.

_My shirt! My utterly perfect sleeping shirt! _I gasped irrationally at the horror of losing my best _oversized_ sleeping shirt that always helped me fall asleep.

"Damn bastard." I muttered to myself as I mourned for the lost t-shirt. He could have the decency to let me sort through my own stuff.

I grabbed my favorite jeans, a Paramore t-shirt and undergarments from the drawer below the rack (I didn't even want to _think_ about how it got there) before stumbling to the other closed doors, breathing a sigh of relief when it revealed the bathroom. Right at that moment, I wouldn't be surprised if it revealed _Narnia_. Everything was spinning so quickly away for me.

_Like your sanity, sweetie._ My inner self cooed and I shut the imaginary door in her face as I shut the physical door of the bathroom, hearing the comforting click of the lock.

Rolling my eyes heavenward, I placed the stack of clothes on the counter-top beside the sink, noticing that the uniform I was trying to wash yesterday had _mysteriously_ disappeared.

I showered and changed quickly reveling in the feel of familiar clothes.

I pulled a face in the mirror as I took in my appearance. Without bothering about trying to find a hairdryer, I pulled my wet hair over my right shoulder before braiding the pink strands messily, securing it with a hair tie that I left in the pocket of my jeans from the last time I used them. Smiling, I found ridiculous happiness at my own familiar habit. There was no pair of jeans of mine that did not contain a hair tie.

Throwing yesterday's clothes into the hamper beside the glass shower stall, I stalked out of the bathroom, a woman on a mission.

Walking out of the open doors to the main hallway, I was so caught up in my thoughts that when along the lines of _'I distinctly remember closing that door when I came into the room'_, I didn't realize Sasuke leaning against the other side of the large doors, looking every bit like a Greek god.

"Hey." _My god- his voice._

Slapping myself inwardly from the momentary lapse of rational thought, I stepped in front of him and in my most intimidating voice I growled, "_You."_

Sasuke smirked, his head tilting towards me, but he remained silent. It seemed like the previous tension that surrounded us this morning had disappeared, leaving no trace.

"How- how long have you been standing here?" I asked, bewildered by the fact that I no longer needed to go look for him- it seemed like he came looking for _me_.

"Not long."

"Were you spying on me?"

Sasuke barely hid his scoff, "No."

"Oh…good then." I whispered, suddenly deflating. Sasuke looked at me for a long moment, which I _swear_ I felt my face burning during that time, before pushing himself off the door gracefully and striding down the hall.

"Hey- Sasuke!" Remembering that I had a mission, I shouted unceremoniously at his back, "My clothes- did you-… why would you-…" I gritted my teeth. "Where is my white shirt with yellow triangles printed along the hem?"

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jeans, looking at me like I was deeply stupid, he drawled, "I burnt it."

My heart dropped to somewhere near my stomach, before I could start blabbing my long stream of complaints, Sasuke turned to face me fully. "We're going to be late." He said flatly, his eyes looking at me with cool indifference.

_I lost that battle._

* * *

_can you hear me?_

_I'm screaming at you._

* * *

**Hello Stranger.**

That what the messy handwritten note said, when I finally managed to get it open and read after it hit me on the side of my face during first period.

I glanced around trying to keep a low profile so Kakashi-sensei doesn't notice. I saw Kiba grinning at me from the desk diagonally from mine and I knew who interrupted my daze with the flying projectile.

"What?" I whispered to him, placing the note he tossed into my lap, away from Kakashi-sensei's all-knowing gaze as he droned on unenthusiastically about the beginning of slavery in vampire history. Really, it was interesting and all, but I got lost so easilybecause it was completely different circumstances than the History I had learnt. Not that I was any good at that either.

Kiba mimicked writing while mouthing the words '_Send notes!'_

I rolled my eyes, but turned back to my desk to retrieve my pencil.

_Yes?_

I threw it back almost missing his desk entirely but Kiba had lightning reflexes and he caught the note easily.

**Just wanted to say hi to the new kid. Seriously, are you even trying to pay attention to the class?**

I sighed. Was I really that obvious?

_No, not really. I was actually thinking of the many ways to fake a panic attack so I can get out of this class._

I wrote back playfully, but not really, this class was amazingly boring. I thought maybe even Kakashi-sensei hated the subject topic.

Kiba threw the paper ball in a high arc, managing to make it land directly in the center of my table. I acted out a silent clap mockingly before unfolding the note.

**Tell you what: You pretend to faint. Make sure your hair is covering your face so your laughter wouldn't be obvious and then I'll act all flustered and dramatic about it. That way we're both out of the class. And for bonus, I'll even catch you so you don't smack the floor.**

_I don't think I really trust you to catch me after yesterday's performance of beating the crap out of me._

He grinned at me once again, showing off his top two canines before the ball of paper sailed in the air. I lunged and grabbed it before it could bounce off the table, glancing at Kakashi-sensei's cautiously. He was still going on about how the shamans who performed the binding came about to know of their powers.

**Sorry! But you weren't really hurt. I hardly nicked you. Anyways, that collar you got on. Who do you belong to?**

Unknowingly, I tensed up at his words: _Who do you belong to?_

I put the pencil down in favor of tapping my fingers restlessly on the surface of the desk. I wasn't quite sure why I was hesitant to tell Kiba that Sasuke was the one who put the collar on me.

Hearing the sound of flipping and then a piece of paper being ripped out of a notebook, I looked back at Kiba only to see him writing furiously on a new piece of notebook paper.

**You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Forget I asked. I forget sometimes that some slaves don't have it as good as I do. Does your owner treat you badly or something? Make you do all the tedious and tiring work?**

I blinked before hesitantly writing back, my heart beating loudly in my ears.

_No. I don't think it's that way. I hadn't been asked to do anything really. _

I paused, my pencil hovering over the paper, before I decided to dive head-in.

_It's just the idea of someone owning me is scary. And I don't even know what he wants from me. He never explained __anything__._

Kiba's reply was quick even though he wrote a full paragraph.

**That doesn't sound too bad really. You won't even believe what some vampires make their slaves do, especially in the past. You would know about it if you actually paid attention in this class. I think you're lucky if your owner hasn't asked you to do anything – but why did he make you his slave then?**

I absolutely, one-hundred-percent and then some, did not know.

**Being a slave may not be that bad. Look at me: I got free food, free lodging, and free schooling. It is not bad and free things are always welcomed. I do some tracking and protecting work for my owner but she treats me nicely and probably better than I deserve considering how many times I have screwed up. She doesn't command me to do anything. I work for her willingly. **

Kiba isn't commanded to do anything? He _willingly_ does work for his owner?

_Who is your owner?_

**Hinata Hyuuga. She's part of the royals in Konoha so it's something like an honor for me to be her slave. It shows I'm needed, you know?**

_No, I did not know;_ but I smiled back at Kiba and stuffed the scribbled on notebook paper into the pocket of my jeans.

Kiba just gave me a lot to think about.

* * *

_I think I hate you. because you make me doubt myself._

* * *

I plopped into the plastic hard-back chair after placing the tray of food onto one of the cafeteria tables meant for two people. Carefully sliding my fingernail into the gap between the lid and the container, I popped the plastic lid off to reveal the cream sauce pasta and fries combo accompanied by potato salad and a bottle of apple juice. Yum.

I hadn't eaten anything other than plain bread since I woken up in the manor for the first time so I quickly and without inhibition dug into my food with the plastic fork. _What am I eating? Lunch? Dinner? Late night snack? _The steam from the pasta wafted against my face and smelling the creamy goodness was like a hotline to my starving stomach.

I was partly horrified and partly relieved when Ino gracefully slid into the chair opposite me, staring at the way I was eating my food in the most unladylike manner with an unimpressed eye. I gulped down the pasta and it burned down my throat. I stared at her cautiously as my hand holding the fork lowered.

"Sakura." Ino said, looking into my face for signs of hostility or encouragement. I schooled my features to show blankness, imagining Sasuke's face to complete the expression.

I must have succeeded because Ino continued on nervously, "Hey…how are you?"

I cocked one of my eyebrows up, the rest of my expression unmoving. Ino was a lot of things (blonde, pretty, confident, my best friend, my best friend, _my best friend_) but hesitant was not one of them.

She let out a soft sigh before looking me straight in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

_And there she is._ The no-nonsense Ino I knew.

I didn't answer, inwardly enjoying the subtle signs of panic that was showing in Ino's demeanor, almost like an ancient vase whose paint was slowly cracking apart. She rested her feet only on the heel of her kill-heels and began tapping her toes on the hardwood floor of the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry for lying to you about Dachino. I really didn't think you would be _anywhere_ near _here_. I-…" She stopped speaking suddenly and casted her eyes around the half-filled cafeteria. Paranoia flooded through me and I too took a glance at the people around us, noticing the telltale signs of people whipping their heads around to avoid being caught eavesdropping. Thinning her lips, Ino lowered her voice, "lets get out of here first." And she proceeded to drag me up by my arm and out of the cafeteria. I only barely managed to grab the tray of food, the bottle of apple juice balanced precariously on the tray as I tried to regain my balance.

Ino released me but the impatient look on her face prompted me to hurry alongside of her as we broke out of the brick corridor into the open night air. We walked along the thin pathway lining the bleachers of the sports stadium before Ino took a right turn and walked up the staircase leading to the top of the bleachers. It was brightly lit like there was game going on, but I saw no one around. She sat down on the top row, near to the enclosed area that I assumed to be the VIP box.

"Here. Sit – no one should be able to hear us here." Ino said her body turned slightly in my direction. I reflected her posture, shivering at the feel of the cold metal bench, and placed the tray of food onto my lap, picking up my fork again. Even though this conversation was important, I was _really _hungry.

Ino ignored my chewing and she immediately launched into her speech again. "I didn't think you would be here. I didn't want you to know about this school, about this world _ever_. It's not something that I hoped for you. I know I hurt you… but – lying was all I thought I could do. I _couldn't_ tell you I was going back to where I came from because my leave-of-absence expired, _right_? I couldn't tell you…and I'm still so surprised to see you here." She looked at me tentatively through her eyelashes, her blue eyes urging me to accept her apology.

I changed tack, not one to give in easily. "Leave-of-absence?"

Ino's expression fell but she answered my question earnestly, "When I met you, it was during my leave-of-absence. Three years ago, I was in my… rebellious stage? And I told my dad that I _refused_ to go for any more missions until I really knew what was _out_ there in the world – in the other world not corrupted with vampire obligations." She sneered at the words _'vampire obligations'. _"My dad applied for a leave-of-absence for me, he could never really say no to anything I want… and I left. Just like that. I was prepared to spend sometime relaxing… going to normal school… learning how to be human and just _exist_. And…then I met you." She looked at me, smiling widely now.

"You…are my best friend, even if you didn't know that I was a vampire…_you_ still knew me best. You knew what I liked, what I hated. You knew of my dream to not rely on my husband at all just _because I can_."

_And buy a gazillion and one pairs of shoes and convert one of the spare rooms in your future mansion into a runaway so you can model those shoes together with the latest season fashion, _I thought but didn't comment out loud.

I reached for her hand and gripped her fingers tightly in my free hand like I did whenever we watched scary movies together in the middle of the night in my apartment.

She continued so earnest and sincere that I felt my heart breaking. "And when I first saw you here yesterday... it was so _selfish_ of me. So selfish… When I first saw you here, I was so happy for briefest second because now – now I wouldn't have to keep anything from you.

"You spoil me, Sakura. You really do."

My laughter bubbled in my throat.

"And next thing I knew, I was so worried. I thought – _what in the world is Sakura doing here? – _You…" She broke off, looking at me imploringly and her eyes drifted to the collar around my neck.

I gave her the briefest nod and spoke in a soft, soft, _soft_ voice, "I'm a slave now."

"Yeah… I guess you are." Her eyes held all the comfort I knew she had in her. Against the desire to launch myself at her, I sat rooted to the metal bleachers, my eyes casted downwards on my fingers holding the tray of food.

I felt her hand pat my head lightly, her fingers moving to push aside my hair from my face. "Sasuke Uchiha huh. The cold emotionless ice cube!" Ino said dramatically, "Well…at least he's _hot_." She said in an afterthought. She brought both her hands to her chest and sighed theatrically.

"Ino! You said he was cold and then hot – you're contradicting yourself." I rolled my eyes, completely used to her theatrics and her spazzes about men.

Suddenly, she took both of my hands, almost making me flip my tray, her eyes and voice having the element of seriousness that I rarely heard. "I'm relieved to know that it's Sasuke though."

_Whoa. Where did that come from?_

At my stupefied expression, she continued, "It could be a lot worse! I _doubt_ Sasuke will make you do anything, not even chores! He's too self-reliant for that. Lord knows he has the ability to do everything too." She pulled a face, her eyes rolling heavenward. "He does everything by himself and has been doing that for as long as I have known him. Only Naruto seems to be able to get through to his thick armor of _don't-come-near-me-or-I'll-burn-you-into-a-crisp-faster-than-Kakashi's-porn_. Trust me, it wouldn't be a normal slave job if it were for him. He'll probably just command you to stay away so you don't disturb his brooding. I… I can't believe I'm saying this. I _trust_ Sasuke to take care of you."

"Then – _why_ did he make me his slave? It doesn't make any sense! He made me his slave but he doesn't ask me to do anything for him! I feel like a thief, enjoying the nice bedspread and the nice bathroom and not paying rent at all." I said none too quietly.

Ino laughed at my expression, chortling, she said, "Only you would feel bad for using his manor's utilities. Sasuke is freaking drowning in money. Don't feel bad, he can afford it, no problem!"

"That's no excuse. Ino…I'm so _confused_. Just…just _why_ did he make me his slave?" I asked more to myself than to Ino, not for the first time.

She answered anyway, her eyes glinting with something I couldn't place. "I don't know. But what I do want to know is: _are we okay?_" She turned the full force of her baby blue eyes on me. The sudden change in subject was suspicious and I promptly froze because that look in her eyes – I had no doubt that she had an inkling to why Sasuke made me his slave – but she wasn't going to tell me.

I found myself speaking, "Yeah. We're okay."

* * *

_you belong here._

_do I belong with you?_

* * *

I went through mathematics and literature classes unseeingly, too caught up in my thoughts as I tried to make sense of Sasuke's actions and what Kiba and Ino told me about. In the end, I was still clueless of the exact reason why he would want me to be his slave. And my internal monologue had also made me realize that I had become a lot more accepting of vampires now than before. Maybe being around Sasuke wouldn't be bad – even if I didn't know what that entailed. Sasuke never did tell me to do anything – just not to run away. In all actuality, if he would just give up the power to control my actions, I wouldn't have many insecurities about living with him.

_Ugh_. All the wayward thoughts I have been having ever since I opened my eyes this morning (NIGHT. NIGHT.) were causing a dull ache at the area in between my eyebrows.

I had dumped all my textbooks back into my locker and was making my way to _Physical Education and Self-Defense._ I was to have this class three times a week. In my old school I only had physical education twice per week and the period was only forty minutes as compared to here that had periods lasting for an hour.

I walked through the large courtyard again, but feeling a lot better than I had yesterday. I couldn't keep the tiny smile from manifesting on my face whenever I remembered that Ino and I had made up. She was still the constant in my life.

A group of students who were dressed to go to a fancy dinner party on the upper side sat at one of the sheltered picnic tables, loudly discussing a geography test that they had just taken.

"I swear, _volcanoes are mountains_ – they are mountains with craters and those red-hot lava stored in them!" A boy shoved all his notes into his messenger bag and glared at the rest of the group in a gesture that said _'so there!'_

"No, you moron, lava isn't lava until it comes out of the crater!" A girl screeched back as she made herself comfortable in another boy's lap.

"Then what is it?"

I quickly walked on, ignoring the rest of the conversation. _Really, with all the shouting they're doing I'm starting to believe they want people to think that they are idiots._

Reaching the sports complex, I ran up the granite steps, crossed the lobby and was in the elevator in no time. I didn't have a watch or a mobile phone so I didn't know what time it was or whether I was late for class.

Pushing the button for the second floor, I made up a mental to-do-list to buy a watch soon. _But not knowing the time is a perfect reason to be late for classes! And you don't have to have a perfect disciplinary record anymore. _Inner Sakura said from her imaginary grand armchair in my mind sipping on her glass of ice lemon tea.

The elevator door slid open with a ding and I stepped out, making my way to Gymnasium 01 and then to the female locker room.

_Oh, that reminds me; how much are the fees for coming to this school? Must be one heck of a hefty sum since the facilities are great and it's a private academy. Again, I feel like a thief._

I had already reached the locker that proudly displayed the 'HARUNO SAKURA' placard slid into the slot across its front before I realized that I didn't have any clothes to change into. Both the school t-shirt and the yoga pants that I borrowed yesterday were in the hamper back in the manor.

I looked down at my t-shirt and jeans ensemble and sighed. Asking for clothes for a second time seemed rude.

Resigned to my fate, I left the locker room.

Immediately, I heard Anko-sensei bark, "Haruno! Why aren't you changed?"

"I forgot to-" I started but she interrupted me shouting "Bench!" in my direction.

_I don't think I would ever understand that woman._ I shrugged and went to sit on one of the wooden benches that lined the gymnasium wall, ignoring the eyes on me.

"Hey stranger!" A voice that was distinctly male said to my left. Kiba was on the outside of the gymnasium doors but had his head poked in. He smiled his conspiratorial smile and gestured with his head for me to get up and out of the gymnasium.

Stunned, I looked back ahead, searching for Anko-sensei's dark purple hair. She stood far away from where I sat and her back was to me as she screamed at some other poor innocent soul.

I smiled mischievously, stood up and walked out of the gymnasium.

Kiba closed the doors after I passed. I opened my mouth to say in my most indignant voice, "I have a name that was nicely bestowed on me upon birth."

"I know." Kiba said in his infuriating way, "And it's a pretty name. Come on. This class is boring - the fourth floor is where you want to be."

A ding announced the elevator's arrival once again and we both stepped into it.

Kiba didn't stop talking. "We got Kakashi-sensei today so he wouldn't mind you sitting in." Kiba looked down at me. "I think."

A random thought popped into my head and I asked it without thinking of the consequences. "Hey Kiba, you're a vampire right?"

Kiba raised both his eyebrows and he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…"

I nodded. _Everyone I talk to seem to be. What do I know anymore?_

The double doors leading to Gymnasium 03 where the advance self-defense class was held were different from the ones that led to the basic class. It had a thick solid wood frame and was padded with soundproof material that was a deep red in color. Kiba pushed open one of the doors and gestured me in with a deep mocking bow, his mouth curved into a mischievous smile.

I took one step in and promptly froze. My mouth dropped open as I took in the interior of this gymnasium. "That is so _unfair_."

"Pretty cool, eh?" Kiba said smugly.

The entire area was twice as big as the basic class' gymnasium. From where I was standing, there was a long flight of large steps that stayed consistent throughout the entire gymnasium. They led to the main sparing area that was probably about six basketball courts long on all sides. Unlike the basic class' gymnasium, there were no tatami mats lining the ground, instead it was all hard wood – being slammed on that ground looked like it would fricking hurt. Metal bars lined one side of the sparing area drilled securely to the ground – it look fit for the average person to climb. The ceiling was high, much higher than that of a normal gymnasium. There were many circular lights shining down from above. All the four walls were painted a dark navy color and the steps were deep brown, making the entire gymnasium dark. With the shining lights from above, I could easily see dust floating in the air.

To my left, I saw two sets of doors that I guessed led to the locker rooms. On my right, there was a large metal rack that filled the entire eastern wall. I couldn't see what they contained from where I stood. On the northern wall, there were several first-aid boxes drilled into the wall.

There were no benches in this gymnasium to sit on so people sat on the wide steps instead, a good distance away from the sparing area.

Many students were lounged on the steps, some wearing clothes for exercise but many wore normal everyday clothes but they seem in no hurry to go change.

"Ah. Sakura." A deep voice said somewhere to my right. I jumped about a foot, spinning around only to find Kakashi-sensei standing there. With the look in his eye and the slight curve of what I assumed was his mouth behind the ever-present mask, I reckoned that he was amused.

_Oh Jesus! _"Why do you always do that?" I gasped, my hand placed on the area above my heart, feeling it thump quickly, like butterfly wings.

Kakashi-sensei tilted his head, his defying-gravity hair shifting accordingly as well, keeping true to its style. "Do what?"

"_That_. Surprising me into having a heart attack." I said.

Kakashi-sensei's one visible eye crinkled in amusement as he leaned in closer to me. "You're particularly unaware of what's going on around you, Sakura." He said in a placating tone.

Before I could pull a face at him, Kiba interrupted. "Kakashi-sensei! Can Sakura watch the next match? She was getting bored downstairs."

Kakashi-sensei leaned back, giving me back my personal space. "Sure. Naruto and Shikamaru are sparring next. I didn't think Anko was a _boring_ teacher though."

I jumped in to answer. "She's not boring. Just…downright _freaky_."

Kakashi-sensei chuckled before saying in a mysterious tone, "Sakura, you will come to realize that _everything_ around here is borderline freaky."

* * *

A spar. This was what this was. A _spar_.

_They look like their trying to bite each other's heads off and then walk away with it as a prize_, Inner Sakura observed.

I nodded dumbly as I sat by myself on the steps. Students were scattered around the steps, but none were seated near me. Kiba had abandoned me rather rudely to join Hinata as she sat near to the metal racks, which I now knew contained all sorts of weapons and equipment.

_No worries. Ino would be coming out soon. _The blond girl had went to locker room, determined to fix her hair into _'something decent! I look like a mess!'. _Typical Ino; she looked fabulous, albeit her hair was slightly off center but she made us lesser mortals feel like we had seaweed for hair.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I peered closely at Naruto's and the other guy's match. They were blurs as they ran (_pounced, jumped, flew_) at each other but when I concentrated closely I was able to catch glimpses of Naruto's lips pulled over his teeth as he grinned and maybe a flashing of the other guy's eyes.

Naruto was inhumanly fast. But the other guy – Shikamaru? - seemed to know Naruto's next move before Naruto executed it. Even when I knew both of them were vampires, I was still shocked at the speed that the two of them seem to be exchanging blows. It was difficult to see their individual movements, but I took what I could.

Naruto raised his leg to kick Shikamaru's head but the pineapple-head vampire managed to block it with his arms. I didn't catch their movements but Naruto was upright suddenly and Shikamaru's arms were back at his sides.

"Eh, Shikamaru! I'm going to wipe the floor with your ass today," Naruto said cockily, a charming smile on his face.

Shikamaru looked like he deeply wanted to roll his eyes but it wasn't worth the effort. "Troublesome."

And then it started again.

I squinted my eyes, trying to see who had the upper hand, but my weak human eyes could not tell. It was like a DVD-player on fast forward, I couldn't catch the individual scenes at all – they passed so quickly the scene looked disjointed.

Naruto was like an unstoppable ball of energy – he was never in the same place for more than a few split seconds - while Shikamaru was more of a thinker – he didn't make any unnecessary movements from what I could tell.

_And I couldn't tell much at all._

Naruto swiped a kick at Shikamaru's midsection and Shikamaru avoided it by doing a backflip, his back facing me. Naruto was facing Shikamaru who was still midst of standing up and I briefly saw a glint of light being reflected on metal before Shikamaru disappeared.

Then I saw _it_. The knife moving at an impossible speed through the air Shikamaru just vacated, straight for _me_.

It was as if in the face of danger, my eyes could focus on the knife – I could see the glinting tip, sharp beyond belief and the straight planes of the knife as it angled towards the hilt.

Adrenaline spiked through me, my stomach lodged somewhere in my throat and my heart beating a harsh, uneven pace…

Shikamaru reappeared, ten or so metres in front of me, his fingers easily grasping the knife around the hilt and in another instant, he flicked it back to Naruto. I only heard the tinkling sound of metal hitting metal as Naruto deflected it.

"Breathe, Sakura."

My head whipped around to the source of the voice. Instantly, my eyes locked with onyx.

_(bright green, green and dark, dark onyx)_

I didn't know whether it was a command or not, but my mouth opened to suck in a huge gulping breath.

I broke the gaze and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm my racing heart.

_Thumpthumpthump._

It was only when I grasped the hem of my t-shirt did I realize that my hands were trembling.

_Oh my god, it was heading straight for me, I could have died._

Through the haze of my thoughts and the darkness of my closed eyelids, I could hear Naruto's anxious voice, "SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU OKAY? SAKURA-CHAN!"

I opened my eyes, my vision blurry as I tried to focus my gaze on Sasuke's face.

By the time I managed to draw in Sasuke's sharp features, my trembling had stopped but my breathing remained harsh – like a just ran five miles. I stared at him, reeling in my rampaging emotions. As I looked into his unreadable eyes, it was as if time had suspended – as cliché as that sounded.

_Breathe, Sakura._

I turned my head to the right to see a concerned Naruto just in front of me, leaning over and his eyes roving all over my body in search for injuries. Narrowing my eyes and standing up quickly, I glared at him with all the force I could muster.

"_Naruto…_" I growled.

He looked distressed.

I didn't take pity.

Bring up my hand, I whapped him on the back of his head. The jerk didn't even try to look wounded. "That was for almost taking my head off."

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." His azure eyes shone with apology, in his hands he held a first-aid box that he seemed to have ripped from the wall.

"You-"

Kakashi-sensei came to a stop in front of him, stopping me in my immediate outburst. "You alright, Sakura? Trust Naruto to forget that _there are other people_ in the room." I nodded even though it seemed like Kakashi-sensei's reprimand was directed at Naruto.

Naruto pouted and looked like he was about to protest but Kakashi-sensei placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Go back to the spar. Shikamaru looks like he is about to fall asleep."

And with a wild exclamation that I didn't catch, Naruto bounced off and Kakashi-sensei made a silent departure as well.

Sighing, I sunk back down into my seat, startled to find Sasuke also sitting on the same step. His face was turned away, his eyes focused solely on the ongoing brawl in the sparring area.

I turned back to watch the spar again, my mind lingered, without my permission, on the person beside me and the curious feeling of safety that he brought along with him.

* * *

_(if I don't speak, and you don't speak_

_will we still be able to understand each other without words?)_

* * *

It was finally Shikamaru's win – Naruto got caught in a trap that Shikamaru was strategically placing throughout the entire spar. He got Naruto cornered near the metal bars – from which Naruto slid through them onto the other side but Shikamaru predicted his movements and managed to get the blonde pinned to the metal bars by expertly wielding a rope to tie Naruto's hands.

All the way to the elevator and throughout the ride, Naruto was demanding for a rematch and Ino was also complaining about how Shikamaru was _so_ lazy and yet _always _seemed to win his matches. With this frenzy, I quickly exited the elevator. Everyone else filed out.

"Ow! Bastard!"

I turned around to see Sasuke and Naruto – both of whom exited the elevator last – and the elevator doors closing. Sasuke was smirking, a slight tilt to the corner of his lips and Naruto was glaring reproachingly at Sasuke, rubbing the back of his head in the way I imagined he would when I had hit him.

* * *

**SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?**

**Hehe, I hope you guys caught what ****happened in the last scene. I wanted to be subtle...but you know, I'm bad at subtlety.**

**Tell me what you think of like the whole Kiba-Sakura and Ino-Sakura relationship. Its hard to write her shifting her behaviour in accordance to the people she talks to. In the previous chapter, some said they liked Sakura and Hinata's interaction...I'll try to put more of that in.**

**DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THE LACK OF SASUKE IN THIS CHAPTER. THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT CHAPTER.**

**Review,_ review_, review. It's a little sad that I got five times more reviews last time than now - even though, these chapters are thrice as long.**


	5. Tricky Hearts

**So many people have been telling me that they appreciate the length of my chapters. That's nice to know.**

**This chapter is ... fragile. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

My heart - …

-…-

-…-

-…-

_Petals_ of **Blood**

(…)

Chapter 5

Tricky Hearts

-…-

-…-

-…-

…- handle with care

* * *

As I climbed into the car, my mind was whirling and my fingers were crossed. Which was ridiculous because why should I be worried that Sasuke wouldn't let me go to collect my own _pay cheque_? I worked hard for that money!

I already mentally planned my argument and my counter-argument and a counter-counter-argument should I have use for it. All ready and determined that I won't take no for an answer, I turned in the car seat, bringing up one of my legs while the other remained on the car floor.

"I'm _going_ to go collect my pay cheque today."

_There._ Now there's that, what could he say about it?

In midst of pushing the key into the ignition, Sasuke turned his head to the side to glance at me from the corner of his eye and, his mouth pulled into a disinterested frown, replied, "Hn." The car's engine purred softly as his wrist turned the key.

_What was that supposed to mean?_

"If you could just drop me off at a metro station? That would be perfect." I asked meekly, still unsure whether he was allowing me to go, I changed tack and tried for the civilised tone.

He smoothly pulled out of the car park and the car zoomed towards the tall black iron gates of the school. The speed pushed me back into the posh leather of the car seat, tempting me to relax. Since I was studying his expression, I caught him rolling his eyes. "I'll drive you there."

_He just topped perfect._

"Okay." I said, not knowing what to think.

* * *

_(Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. It has been two days._

_How did you manage to turn my world upside down?)_

* * *

We were driving through the forest that I saw from the classroom window yesterday at a speed that made it seem that we were flying – _flying_. Sasuke paid no heed when I called him a raving lunatic and told him to slow down.

It was a beautiful forest, not very dense but not sparse either. The canopies of the trees were very high, stretching towards the lightening sky. They casted shadows onto the car hood and the road, looking like disjointed fingers waving as the wind passed through the forest. It was already bright, maybe eight or nine in the morning. At the back of my mind, I hope that soon, I could take a hike through the forest and draw some sketches.

There was a comfortable silence between Sasuke and I in the car. I was in a pleasant mood because it was the first time I asked Sasuke for something and he had easily agreed.

It was a small huge step.

And he in turn, probably picking up on my mood, was relaxed comfortably in his seat, one hand raised to the steering wheel, easily navigating the car along the road.

I looked out of the window again, admiring the smooth road we were on that ran directly through the forest. The forest leaves were shimmering in the sunlight, turning a bright healthy green and several were starting to turn auburn in time for autumn.

I stared at the trees, a nagging feeling telling me that I was missing something.

Oh - _Oh._

_Sunlight._

I whipped around in my seat to look at the man beside me. The man who was a freaking _vampire._

"Sasuke! Sunlight!" Like a complete idiot, I pointed a finger at the sun that was shining down on us through the windshield, strong and mid-morning high. I could feel the heat of the sun on my knees through my jeans.

Sasuke who startled slightly but quickly recovered at my outburst cast a long look at me before returning his gaze onto the road in front of us, his flawless face expressionless.

"You're a vampire!" I said, pointing out the obvious like the Mr. Capitan Obvious that I was. And evidently, Sasuke thought the same since he let out an elegant snort. Ignoring the fact that it was the first time I had ever seen someone snort elegantly – I never knew it was possible -, I barrelled on, speaking quickly. "You shouldn't be able to come out in the sun. Look, sunlight is shining on your arms! Why aren't you dissolving or combusting?"

"Or melting." Sasuke said dryly.

I blushed and pouted. "Don't make fun of me."

Sasuke shook his head lightly, looking at me from the corner of his eyes, pinning me on the spot with his obsidian orbs. He spoke, a low baritone that made me bite my lip, "Vampires have low tolerance to sunlight. As we age, the tolerance wears off."

I sat straighter, a thoughtful expression on my face as I processed the information. "Oh. I see." I said, dozens of questions zipping around in my mind, like a hoard of angry bees on a warpath.

"As a child, we don't even feel the sun. Then, we start feeling a prickly pain. The pain gets more intense as we age and after some time, we can't go out in the daylight at all." Sasuke paused. "We combust."

"Does that mean you're a child?" I said, surprised. For a child, he really had the whole mean, cold, emotionless attitude going on that was honed into perfection.

_And he really is too smexy, too good to be true, for a child! _Inner Sakura shrieked.

"No. I can take a little _pain_." Sasuke deadpanned.

He was wearing a dark-colored t-shirt and dark wash jeans. His arms were in direct contact with sunlight since he had to place his hands on the steering wheel to drive. Even though the windows of the car were tinted, the sunlight still shined on him, still affected him.

I bit my lip. "Do you want me to drive instead?" I asked without thinking.

Sasuke shot a long look in my direction that had me doubting my IQ and the amount of cells that inhabited my brain.

"Can you drive?" Sasuke asked. He was back to looking out onto the road, not at me at all.

I didn't answer his question right away. "Yes…I swear I _can_! It's just I hadn't gotten my license." I mumbled the last part. _Why oh why was I always showing this man my inadequate sides?_

I saw Sasuke's questioning eyebrow and guessed the question lurking behind it.

Mumbling under my breath, I spoke lowly, "Couldn't pay for the test." I wonder how much he caught. Must have been enough, because he nodded nonchalantly.

_Or he could just be pretending to have heard me when he really couldn't care less_.

I ignored my depressing thoughts and turned back to gaze out the window. Outside, the last of the forest disappeared and the uptown streets of Tokyo came into view. We were in the residential area for the people of the higher-income class. It wouldn't be long before Sasuke, and his insufferable need to drive fast, got us into the central area of Tokyo where _Coffeesands_ stood.

I fiddled with the textbooks in my lap before bending down to place the books near my feet. By the time I had straightened, we were there. Sasuke had pulled to a stop just outside of the café entrance, idling on the curb.

I casted a glance to Sasuke and opened my mouth to tell him to wait in the car before I thought better of it and abruptly got out of the car.

To my surprise, I heard the clicking of the car door and then a soft slam. I turned, but Sasuke was already beside me.

"You…"

"I'm not giving you a chance to get away from me." Sasuke said. His face was completely unreadable.

I bit my lip, unsure whether to correct him. _I wasn't even thinking about running away. _I looked down at his arms and then back up to his face. The sun shone on him without restriction. _But…you're in the sun._

Sasuke raised his eyebrow condescendingly, nudging his chin at the entrance to the brightly lit café with the words 'Coffeesands' stuck to the doors.

I quickly made my way in, knowing that Sasuke would follow and therefore _get out of the sun_.

Pulling the glass door open, I walked through and held the door. Sasuke was right on my heels and the door swung shut with a chime of bells.

I gestured in the direction of the only empty table in the café indicating that Sasuke should go and get seated. He turned and made his way to the table in the back, giving me a good long view of his broad back. His black t-shirt did nothing to hide the back muscles the boy had.

_He has a nice butt. _Inner Sakura stage-whispered, her face partially hidden by her raised hands, her eyes twinkling.

_Shut up! I don't need to know! I shouldn't be looking at his butt!_

Blushing, I dodged the tables, making my way to the counter. I slipped through the door marked 'Employees Only', pausing to give a polite smile to Daisy, the foreign girl who was manning the cash register. I didn't know her well - we worked different shifts.

Kouhiseki-san, my manager, was updating the stock logbook in the back room. She was standing in the small space, surrounded by boxes of napkins, silverware and extra cups on one side, crates full of bread buns, bottles of sauces and small packets of sugar on the other.

She balanced the logbook on a half-opened box of plastic gloves, scribbling quickly and muttering to herself once in a while – "five cups broken… two plates…express delivery for ham... arriving on the thirtieth…"

"Kouhiseki-san?" I asked cautiously, knowing she didn't mind us interrupting her while she was updating but I felt it was rude all the same.

Her head whipped up, greying hair flying with her movement. Her glasses were perched on her nose bridge and her sharp eyes caught sight of me immediately. Kouhiseki-san was in her mid-forties, a fair woman who never forgot a broken cup or a complaint from a customer. She was kind though and she also remembered every praise.

"Sakura! Dearie, where have you _been_?" She eyed me from my top of my head to the tips of my shoes probably shocked that she was seeing me after I had missed two days of work without excuse or advanced notice when my track record had been perfect until then.

"I'm so sorry I missed Tuesday and Wednesday-" I started but she startled me when she threw her logbook down. It disappeared into the box of yellow plastic gloves. She grabbed the tops of my arms, looking at me worriedly.

"Are you alright? Anything happened to you, dearie? You look so tired." She asked, her eyes roving over my form.

_Anything happened to me? Oh, NOTHING – just a really godly-looking male kidnapping me and then confusing me by doing all sorts of things that I don't know why he does for me. And he is a vampire. No madam, nothing happened whatsoever._

I held her hand that was gripping my left arm. "It's nothing to be worried about. I just couldn't make it on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you beforehand. It was… unexpected." I winced as I tried to be vague but sincere as I answered her question. "I hope you weren't too short-staffed."

She gave out a large relieved sigh, as if her biggest question in life has been answered. "No worries dear! When you didn't turn up on Tuesday, I called Daisy to come in for an extra shift. On Wednesday, Haru came in for a while. He whined my ear off. The dear boy can't take any hardships in life. So unlike his hardworking father – you know he was a fisherman for twenty years." She laughed heartedly as she talked about her son, Haru – short for Haruki - and her decreased husband.

"I know, I know. Haruki-san's a good worker though! Even if he does whine a bit." I smiled at the nice woman I so luckily had as a manager.

"Oh look at old me, talking about things young people wouldn't care to hear. Sakura-dearie, you're the only one who doesn't tell this doddering bat some fib to get away from her old tales. You looking for your pay? I have it here somewhere…" She dug through the box of plastic gloves again, finally extracting the logbook. She flipped to the back of the book and a Chinese red packet fell to the floor. I bent to pick it up, carefully avoiding the box of candles sitting precariously on other unmarked boxes.

"Just go ahead and take it, dearie! That's your pay. You'll be back here on Monday to work? Five o'clock shift?"

"Of course, Kouhiseki-san. Thank you again!"

I waved and turned to leave the back room. Walking through the kitchen to go back to the main café area, I folded the red packet (Kouhiseki-san always gave our pays in Chinese red packets, saying it was good luck or something) into half before tucking it into the back pocket of my jeans and pulling my t-shirt over.

I stepped back into the main area, the smell of cranberry vanilla latte macchiato that Daisy was blending making me relax. I didn't particularly like strong coffee but the smell of it was heavenly.

My eyes instantly found Sasuke, like a magnet drawn to the opposite pole of another. He was still sitting where I left him. Just sitting there, staring out of the café window. He was slouched slightly in his chair but it didn't matter - all eyes of female race in the café were drawn to him anyway. He chose the chair beside the pillar, placing him effectively in the shadows. His right hand was on the table, inches away from where the sunlight streamed in from the window onto the wooden tabletop. His other hand was relaxed on the dark jeans covering his thigh.

He was a man shrouded in shadows and mystery.

I stopped in my steps, observing Sasuke; the first time I did without him noticing. I pushed away all my prejudiced thoughts and preconceived notions about him. Sasuke looked like a dark knight: smouldering eyes, broad shoulders, muscled arms, lean profile, and soft looking blue-black hair stuck up in artistically messy angles. The guy had it all – tall, dark and handsome. No wonder Daisy was mistakenly mixing in caramel nuts into the cranberry vanilla latte macchiato, her eyes fixed upon the modern day Adonis.

Behind those dark eyes, Sasuke held a world full of secrets and supernatural wonder. If I was honest to myself, I knew I was curious. Two things I was: stubborn and overly curious. Both terrible traits that were going to get me in trouble one day, I knew.

I sighed. _I never had a chance did I._

Everything was changing. _Everything_. For so long, I was holding, grasping, willing everything to not change because I was finally _finally_ dependent and suddenly I wasn't again. I felt a toddler when I looked at Sasuke – someone that needed someone else to explain the world. Someone to tell me what to do.

I was so used to being the adult all the time – a child that grew up too fast. And now, I wasn't even in command of my own actions and I didn't understand _anything_.

I was uneasy – so uneasy about the relationship I had with Sasuke. He made me feel like everything I wasn't.

* * *

A soft tap on the back of my hand snapped me out of my slumber. Feeling disoriented, I blinked rapidly, trying to gauge my surroundings.

I was still in the car but we had reached the driveway of the manor. We were bathed in silence because Sasuke had already yanked the keys out of the ignition, effectively cutting off the soft purring that lulled me to sleep.

Looking at Sasuke's intimidating profile, I frowned, still caught up in my previous thoughts.

I pulled open the car door and stepped out. Without looking back, I walked up to the great doors of the entrance, tugging hard on the black iron handles. They didn't budge. Were they locked, or too heavy for me to move?

I dropped my hands, clenched and unknowingly, I was pouting like a child. Sasuke came up beside me, sliding a large brass key that he produced out of his pockets into the lock and turning swiftly.

The huge doors clicked open and Sasuke held the door out, raising an eyebrow mockingly at my expression.

Feeling irrational anger, I brushed past him harshly. _Why did he always have to show me how freaking useless and worthless I was?_

* * *

There was nothing. _Absolutely nothing._

Now she was pissed.

What was the freaking point of having such a _marvelous _kitchen and pantry if there was not a scrap of food?

Her stomach was growling loudly. She hadn't eaten since the cream pasta and fries combo that she had scarfed down during Ino's apologetic speech.

With the whole almost dying thing during defense class and then taking in all the sweet smelling coffee at Coffeesands, Sakura was _starving_. The moment she entered the manor, she immediately searched for the kitchen that conveniently was located slightly down the main hall of the foyer.

Sakura's green eyes scanned the huge oddly modern space briefly before she made a beeline for the refrigerator. Small hands yanked the refrigerator double doors open, impatiently pushing empty, unmarked cartons and containers aside once she deemed them void of food. She was beyond the point of caring if she made a mess of the place.

_(It's not your home. It's not your home.)_

She huffed in frustration.

_(You not supposed to mess up someone else's home.)_

Sakura flung an empty container aside as she dived further in, her torso leaning against the shelf in the refrigerator as she rose onto her tiptoes. Her entire upper body disappeared into the cold confines of the refrigerator, partly because she was so _small_ and the refrigerator was just that _large_.

_(Mess your own.)_

…

_(__Mess your own.)_

Her right hand landed on the freezer compartment handle and she pulled back her weight to open it.

Then she was trapped.

_("Yeah? Nothing's my own anymore.")_

A loud crunching metal sound resounded in the enormous high-end kitchen and emerald eyes went wide.

His dark onyx eyes were glaring beneath dark raven hair.

His long legs were pressing up against hers; the toes of his shoes were touching the backs of hers. Leaning forward, he pressed his weight into her. The pink strands of her hair tickled his frowning face.

Cold air ghosted across Sakura's cheeks but she felt more of the heat Sasuke emitted.

In her peripheral vision, she could see the swell of muscles in his biceps ripple with power as he trapped her head between them.

In a sudden movement, Sakura felt her body being yanked backwards by strong hands on her hips before she was twisted around and slammed back onto the surface of the recently closed refrigerator door, her breath leaving her abruptly in process of being manhandled.

Her chest was heaving with the harsh breaths she took to slow her pounding heart.

Tiny feet enclosed in white shoes dangled off the floor as Sasuke held her up by pinning her shoulders, bring her up to his towering height. Her shoulders were so small that Sasuke's long fingers were brushing against her neck. Due to their closeness, Sakura could see the darker tints of black that resided in his onyx eyes. In the back of her mind that was not quite frozen with shock, she realized Sasuke was even more beautiful up close.

_(beautiful. beautiful. beautiful.)_

A shock of electricity ran up her arms and down her spine causing her body to jerk closer to his figure and her breaths took on a more ragged pace as she felt a rush of sensations throughout her body.

"You… you s-shocked me again."

Sakura trembled slightly, her eyes prominent on her face, large and becoming greener and greener.

"You are not allowed to be here." His voice was twanged with a hint of fierceness. His breath brushed her face as he spoke and her senses were assaulted with the presence that was Sasuke.

"You _never _said that." Her hands came up to rest on the front of his shirt as she regained balance.

"Hn."

Sakura flinched and drew back before roughly trying to push him off her.

Emerald eyes glinted with anger when he didn't move back one bit.

He slowly brought her down to rest her feet on the ground, the front of her body brushing lightly against his with the movement.

His long fingers reached to grip her wrists tightly, feeling her bones click together. She realized that his skin felt slightly _off _normal temperature.

Sakura snarled and struggled out of his grip. Another shock passed through her. She gritted her teeth and growled, "Stop doing that."

"Get out of here." He growled right back.

"I'm hungry." She barreled on, feeding off her anger. Sasuke frustratingly stayed silent as he continued glaring. She shoved at him again, consciously ignoring the hard muscles she could feel beneath the shirt he wore, "I _need _food. Don't starve me."

His eyes bore into hers. _He couldn't figure her out._

Grasping her wrist again gently, so gently it surprised her, he swiftly pulled her off the refrigerator surface and out of the kitchen. His fingers felt pleasant on her skin. She couldn't tell whether it was warm or cold. It was both, at the same time.

Sakura yanked her hand out of his grasp, turned and poised to run.

* * *

I turned away from Sasuke, not daring to look into his eyes any longer and just wishing to get back to my room to attempt to figure out the feelings that rushed at me suddenly when Sasuke had pinned me to the refrigerator.

I didn't hear Sasuke move, but all of a sudden he was _right in front of me_, moving too fast for my eyes to follow.

He was glaring at me fiercely. The dark depths of his eyes shone with frustration and anger, his facial muscles contorted, a deep 'V' between his eyebrows, his lips pressed in a thin, hard line – almost like he was trying to control his anger, but not quite succeeding.

"You're annoying." He wasn't accusing me. He said it like a statement. The truth – like everything else he said.

"Oh, yeah? Like I care what the hell you think about me." I spit back viciously. The words sounded wrong and tasted sour in my mouth, like I didn't mean them even though I _knew_ I did.

He glared harder at me, his eyes blazing with untamed rage. What did he have to be angry about? _He_ wasn't the one who had become someone else's slave without explanation or logical reason.

Suddenly, I felt his hand gripping my wrist (yet again) as he dragged me into the drawing room. The lights weren't switched on in this room. With the light flooding in from the open door leading to the foyer, I could easily make out the shapes of the furniture but everything was shrouded in shadows.

Dropping my hand like it had spontaneously caught on fire, he bit out, "Sit."

My legs folded beneath me against my will and I sat on one of the plush cushions of the sofa facing the door.

I felt my anger rise up several thousand notches. _This was the problem_ – the fact that he could just command me to do something and I would do it, no matter my say.

I opened my mouth so I could vocalise any of my furious thoughts, to do it before he _commanded_ me to stop talking – but he already interrupted me.

"Shut up."

I _fumed_.

His arms snapped out and I felt the heat that emitted out of his skin as he splayed his hands on the sofa on either side of my unmoving body and leaned forward, not quite as close as before. His heat didn't affect me - I was angry enough that I wouldn't be surprised if I did spontaneously combust into flames. All of my supressed anger and frustration that I had accumulated since I met him came back at me full force, knocking me off my steed of control and leaving me with nothing but my anger to use as the last defence.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, his eyes searching my face probably questioning my behaviour and (righteous) anger.

My mouth muscles twitched at the strain of trying to break his control over me. Tingles of electricity spread throughout my body, warning me.

I felt a wash of coolness flood through my body as Sasuke relinquished his control over the function of my mouth to form words.

"_What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? _Tell me, Sasuke, what in the fucking world were you planning when you _attacked _me and made me your _slave_?" I could hear the outrage in my voice as it shook with the intensity of the feelings I was putting behind my words.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at my expletive. I bit my lip, not allowing myself to feel guilty for cursing. I didn't do it very often - just when I was very frustrated. But I didn't doubt it was a useful skill, even if it was unrefined and vulgar.

He mumbled something I almost didn't catch. After my screaming curses, his voice was soft. I thought he said 'I wasn't' but I couldn't be sure.

He looked at me, pinning me with his fathomless onyx eyes. He growled, "What are you so angry about?"

He leaned down so his face was right in front of mine. I fought the urge to lean backwards to put some distance between us.

"I'm angry-" I stressed my words, hoping to finally get him to understand. "- because _you never explain anything_. Did you think that you could kidnap me whenever you wanted to, hold me here and just command me to do things? Without me fighting back or at least trying to resist?"

He remained silent, both of us listening to my harsh breathing.

"You… you changed everything." My voice dropped into whispers.

I was too tired, too tired of everything.

"You brought me here and left me to be confused. You didn't explain anything. You changed my entire world by barely doing _anything_. Why is it that you can do that? Why is it that you're barely affected while my world was tipped upside down and is burning in hell now that I don't believe in anything? I don't even _believe in myself_ anymore. I don't _trust_ myself and its all your _fault_." My voice wavered and was so soft I doubt he could hear the words. I was speaking very quickly, like I wasn't allowing my mind to catch up with my mouth.

"And yet…"

I looked up at him, taking in the dark, dark hair that looked almost blue, high aristocratic nose, thin lips twisted into a frown and dark onyx eyes as if it was the first time all over again.

"…I don't think I hate you for it." I breathed, half praying he couldn't hear me.

He was leaning closer to me now, having moved during my whispered speech, putting less than a foot of space between our faces. No part of his body was touching mine but it made no difference because I was acutely aware of him anyway.

"Will you let me go?" I asked once more, but this time there was no desire behind the words. They sounded hollow. I asked because that was what I was familiar with.

Would I leave if he said 'yes'?

"No."

My breath left me in a _whoosh_ that I was sure he could hear. We were so _close_.

He studied me. His eyes taking in every feature of my face as I forced myself not to blush. I struggled to remain still under his scrutiny. My eyes fixed upon the details of the drawing room walls that I could see from above his shoulder.

"We…can come to an agreement." His voice made me jump, all my muscles hyperaware of him_ just_ in front of me.

My eyes involuntarily found his again as my mouth moved without my brain really processing the thoughts behind it. _Could he like…move back a little?_

"Like a compromise?"

He smirked, a tiny tilt of his lips on one corner of his mouth.

"Aa."

I nodded several times slowly, almost like I was trying to convince myself.

"What do you suggest?" I whispered. In tune with the mood compressing the drawing room: dark, soft, and subtle.

_Intimate._

Since I was sitting facing the open door of the drawing room, my face was bathed in artificial light and Sasuke's face was hidden in silent shadows, only a slight illumination upon his features caused by the light reflected off my face onto his.

"I won't order you to do things unless it's necessary or if you're being stupid."

Although feelings of indignation bubbled within me, I kept silent, listening to him finish.

But he had stopped talking.

"Is that…all? I have no…duties?"

Sasuke had an indescribable expression plastered onto his face.

"Nothing."

"What…?"

_Slaves do things for their master right?_

"Just don't run away." Sasuke added, almost in an afterthought.

"That's not really a deal, is it? It's like I'm not even a slave." I stated still extremely bemused.

He shrugged.

"Really? You're not going to command me to do anything for you? Like...what do slaves do for their master nowadays – wash clothes? Check food for poison and rooms for hidden weapons or anything like that?" I asked, cracking my brain for some information I knew from my class with Kakashi-sensei.

Sasuke stared at me as if I grew two heads and polka-dotted horns.

"I just have to _not_ run away? Run away from this place where there is free lodging, free schooling, free food and water and everything to sustain _life_?" I rambled on. The feelings of anger and frustration melted into feelings of _'this-is-too-good-to-be-true'_.

He nodded. I stared into his face disbelievingly. I knew there is a catch – I just had to figure out what that catch was. He looked slightly confused – either he was genuinely confused about my reaction or he was an evil genius with genius acting. I chose the latter.

"I don't believe you." I declared even though my Inner self was commenting that he never did lie to me before. I wasn't stupid. I knew I had to be cautious of all deals, especially those that seemed overly generous. "I don't believe that you won't command me to do things against my will, like you would command me to shut up when I'm saying things you don't want to hear."

Sasuke exhaled through his mouth, looking annoyed. He leaned back, putting another foot of space between us.

"I won't."

"You mean you won't - if you can bear with me."

He didn't disagree.

"Then…Sasuke, why did you ask me to become your slave? You never told me the reason." I asked the question still burning bright in my mind like a gas lamp in the middle of freezing winter midnight.

He glared at me. But compared to all his previous death glares, this didn't even make me flinch.

"Just stay." He murmured. And I knew he was telling me not to run away.

He stood and walked out of the drawing room. I sat on the sofa, surrounded by shadows and staring at Sasuke's back.

A small, tiny hesitant smile was playing around my lips.

Because that wasn't an order.

And, as I was starting to learn, in Sasuke language, that was practically saying 'please'.

* * *

I pushed back the heavy velvet drapes to reveal the wide windows but left the translucent curtains. The sunlight shone through the material, making the drawing room brighter, less daunting and mysterious. The curtains lifted into the air and my hair flew across my face as the wind blew in through the open windows.

The drawing room had many couches and lounge chairs arranged in an artistically careless manner, several facing the fireplace etched into the wall, speaking of old antiques and the time when the world was younger.

There were many strange and almost random objects in the drawing room. I recognised a globe and several rolled up scrolls on the oak table. But on it were many other things I didn't recognise. There was a tube-like thing that looked like a syringe without a needle. The fluid inside was translucent-white, shimmering in the light, as if it had miniscule particles of glitter suspended within in. I cautiously pulled in back onto the oak table careful not to jostle all the other weird trinkets and objects. There was also a telephone on the table, creating a juxtaposition of items from different centuries. There were many of such instances in this manor: heaters, modern bathroom, telephones, laptops, and energy-saving light bulbs. Not for the first time, I wondered how old Sasuke was.

Into the far corner of the room, next to the large windows was a large object covered with a white sheet, like when expensive furniture from old houses was preserved. Curiosity won over politeness to not touch things that weren't mine, and I pulled at the heavy sheet, leaning back on my heels. The sheet slid off, revealing a full-sized grand piano. It was all black smooth, polished wood.

It was beautiful. Based on my 'knowledge' (I used to walk by a music shop that sold instruments about two blocks away from Coffeesands whenever I went to work and would admire the pianos and guitars that stood in the display), I could tell that the piano in the drawing room was a seriously majestic one.

At this moment, looking at the grand piano and thinking about my previous conservation with Sasuke, the diabolical brain that resided in my head decided it was time to test the _compromise_ between Sasuke and I.

He said he wouldn't command me to do anything, even if I was getting on his nerves – but I wondered what were the limits on _'getting on his nerves'_.

I sat down on the leather bench in front of the piano, lifting up the key lid to reveal the black and white keys.

Tentatively, I pressed down on one white key, hearing the clear note resonate throughout the drawing room.

Smiling, I stood back up to heave up the piano lid, letting the sunlight shine onto the strings, hammers and soundboard. Lifting the lid would let the sound out, amplifying the volume of my playing, ensuring that Sasuke would hear me.

Using two fingers, I pressed down on the keys again, childishly delighting in the loud clear sound. Raising my left hand, I played more keys, my grin growing wider with every loud detached note.

I never played the piano before – ergo, I was _terrible_. Instead of creating beautiful music, the notes I played were all either too high, too low or simply didn't fit together.

_This is sure to annoy you, Sasuke. You're not going to just let me make this racket. Go on, I'm proving you wrong right now – come and tell me to shut up._

I continued to pound on the keys, not delicate or graceful at all, instead deliberately playing badly. There was no tune, no rhythm, just awkward and mismatched tones one after another.

As I pressed random keys together, playing loudly, I waited for Sasuke to come bursting into the drawing room. I waited for the tingles to spread throughout my body after he commanded me to stop. I waited for him to enforce his will again, remembering the night sky and pink cherry blossom petals that floated down onto the manor's driveway on the first day I officially met Sasuke.

I braced myself for the sharp pain that would run up my spine and sink into my brain - the feeling of electrocution.

I waited for the colorless world.

_(I don't believe you, I don't believe you, I don't believe you.)_

But it never came.

* * *

My hands dropped into my lap.

He was really letting me to this, just like he said - he would bear with me.

I was starting to realize that he meant what he said when we 'compromised'.

I was surprised to find myself a little touched at the gesture – or no gesture this in case.

_(You keep proving me wrong_

…

_again and again)_

_So…we're living here from now on? _Inner Sakura said snidely. _Like the worthless things we always prove to be?_

_Shut up. Maybe…maybe our life is finally turning around._

_You don't really believe that, do you? _Inner Sakura blinked at me pityingly.

I wanted to believe that maybe things were finally looking up. All of this: the room, the school, Sasuke… all seemed a little bit too good to be true.

But it is always good to hope a little right?

If Sasuke was putting in the effort…so would I.

Sucking in a lung full of air, my diagram expanded and I opened my mouth to shout in a clear voice.

"Sasuke! I'm still hungry!"

* * *

_(maybe together we could make this work)_

* * *

Even though, there was a shift in the fragile relationship Sasuke and I shared, I was still scared shitless out of my mind.

I stepped into the car without protest while my mind ran away without me, still contemplating whether I had made the right choice. I zoned out, lost in my thoughts.

I just looked, at him, at everything, at nothing.

Was I really going to let someone else seize such a large role in my life? And trust that he was not going to hurt me? Was it really all right to finally rely on someone else for a change?

All my survival instincts were telling me to bolt right out of the car and report Sasuke to the police for kidnap and assault. But another part of me was telling me to let things run its course, to let a shimmer of hope creep into my heart.

This trust I was trying to give Sasuke was the biggest I ever gave anyone. From the past few days, my life had completely changed because of him. If he wasn't going to treat me like a slave – like our compromise promised -, then this was a _good_ change.

I was so scared that things would bite me the ass and throw me out in the streets, in worse condition than I had started in. _It happened so many times already; why are you even hoping anymore?_

There was an invisible weight crushing my chest, an invisible hand strangling my heart – strangling the hope out of it.

_(Because that's how you'll live, you darling girl.)_

When my eyes closed, when I saw nothing, it was as if I couldn't feel anything. The hope I thought I could give myself. The belief I thought I could give Sasuke. _They will all turn into nothing once again, just like it always have._

My eyes slid open as I struggled to push all my previous disappointments and hurt away – to leave space for the new hopeful future.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I realized exactly how reliant I had become on Sasuke and as I thought of all my previous experiences of _relying on people_.

_(Bad experiences break you.)_

I had placed a wall around myself, not letting anyone in – not letting anyone have the chance to hurt me.

But the moment I shouted at Sasuke that I was hungry… I gave him the reins momentarily. I gave him some part of my control. I gave him some part of my trust.

He broke the carefully constructed wall I had since I was a young girl.

Shivers went down my spine; I felt the imaginary cold seep into my bones, the structure of my being.

_Everything that I used to believe in…_

My pink hair was down, and it fluttered into my vision as I fought the tears back. As I repeatedly told myself that I was making the right choice - there was no need to be afraid.

Everything was blurry and unclear.

All I saw was pink strands and beyond that the passing road.

But when Sasuke spoke, "We're almost there", everything went back into focus, like an elastic snapping back into place.

* * *

_We're almost there._

_We're almost there._

_We're almost there._

* * *

She felt again.

"We're...almost there."

The words tumbled through her pink lips in whispers, sounding... unbelieving.

Sasuke looked at her through the corner of his eye.

"Hn."

He was the person that dragged her though the unknown.

Confused, hesitant and hopeful, she was the girl who followed, unknowing where they were going.

Sakura Haruno started to trust Sasuke Uchiha, just a little.

* * *

I watched as his hands smoothly maneuvered into the parking space and in my mind, I compared it to my clumsy movements when I test-drove. The muscles of his upper arm flexed slightly beneath his pale skin, showing power in his nimble movements. I silently cursed myself for staring at his hands and arms.

He 'hn'-ed and I wondered whether he took notice of my discomfort. His hands left the steering wheel to rest on his dark jeans. His skin was very pale, but he was beautiful.

I coughed lightly, turning my gaze to the world outside of the window. The sun shone brightly, showing off its mid-day power. It was so bright outside. I had to quint my eyes, already used to darkness and midnight.

Emerald met onyx when I turned back to him.

His face was expressionless once again.

This time, he turned away first and yanked open the glove box, I heard the telltale sounds of his hand shuffling through the items inside before he pulled out two dark-tinted sunglasses. Tossing one to me with a flick of his wrist, he slid the other on and was pushing the car door open before he stepped out with movie star grace. I felt a bout of confusion before I stepped out of the car too, quickly sliding the sunglasses to rest on my nose, the muscles around my eyes instantly relaxing once the sun was obscured.

He angled his face, his side profile to me as if he was waiting for me, already standing a few metres away from the car. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, letting it drop into his eyes.

I shared a small smile with myself as I purposely slowed down my steps, walking at a ridiculously slow pace.

If I didn't keep my eyes on him the entire time, I might have not observed the furrowing of the brow and the defiant shift of his head as waited for me to reach his side.

Together, looking like movie stars, we walked into the grocery store.

A blast of cold air greeted us, raising the fine hair on my bare arms, as we passed through the sliding doors of the grocery store entrance. I grabbed a miniature wheeled silver cart from the line near the front door and followed after Sasuke who had his hands tucked into the pockets of his low-rise jeans.

I quickly scanned the grocery store, coming to the conclusion that this was more of a supermarket _empire_. It was huge; aisles and aisles of food, toiletries, wine and other household items.

I winced briefly, so many items – so many more chances of being tempted to spend money.

"Hey…Sasuke, you're paying right?" I asked, pushing the cart down the never-ending fruit aisle.

He looked down to face me – damn he was so _tall_ – and cocked an eyebrow. "You don't have any money on you?" said Sasuke.

"No_pe_," I said, popping the 'p', consciously pulling my t-shirt over the pocket of my jeans, where the red packet Kouhiseki-san had given me was hidden.

Sasuke snorted as if he didn't believe me at all and nodded resignedly, continuing to walk down the aisle.

I grinned and pushed the cart with one hand while the other tenderly placed plastic bags of selected fruits into the cart.

My eyes examined each and every fruit carefully, searching for bruises. Distractedly, I asked, "Sasuke? Do you want anything?"

He didn't reply.

I looked up, clutching a mango in my right hand, to see him staring at my face with a mocking expression on his. His lips parted and rose, showing me a gleaming set of front teeth. A heartbeat later, his incisors sharped into sharp points.

_Shit! Anyone could have seen that!_

Hurriedly, I scanned the aisle, worried that people would start screaming because of Sasuke's _'I'm a vampire' _presentation. No screams, and no one else were present in the fruit aisle - apart from me (the normal human) and Sasuke (the exhibitionist vampire).

I let out a sigh of relief, knowing deep in my gut that we could have been in the middle of a lot of commotion and police attendance (and maybe even garlic and holy water).

_Stupid, Sasuke would never bring out his fangs if someone were watching. _Inner Sakura commented.

Sasuke's lips had closed and were curved into an attractive smirk.

I wanted to hit him. Instead, I hissed, "I _know_ you're a vampire, you asshat – I was just wondering if you ate anything _else_ other than blood. It's not healthy to have a monogamy relationship with your basic diet."

Sasuke stared at me in silence, his eyes roving over my face, almost as if he was trying to memorize how I looked like.

I pulled a face.

"Tomatoes."

I let the expression melt off my face, startled. "What? You eat tomatoes?" Narrowing my eyes, I thought of the red fruit. "It is because it is red like the color of blood?"

Sasuke looked away from me, his face contorted into a slight grimace before he said softly, "No. Does everything I do have to be because I'm a vampire?"

"No… but it is a pretty big part of you…" I trailed off. Pushing the cart further down the aisle, I came to the crates of bright red tomatoes. I tore a plastic bag off the roll and started to fill it to the brim with tomatoes.

"Is this enough?" I asked, holding the half-full bag near my face for Sasuke's inspection.

He looked at the bag disdainfully.

Sighing, I pushed the bag into his arms, not waiting for him to get a good grip before I let go. Faster than my eyes could catch, Sasuke had his hands out of his pockets and securely around the bag of tomatoes.

Tilting my head to indicate the crates of tomatoes, I said, "Pick out your own tomatoes – I'm going to find more food on the other aisles. Not all of us can live off…" I smiled angelically, "Tomatoes."

I pushed the cart away and turned the corner of the aisle, my laughter trailing softly after me.

Without Sasuke beside me, I could focus better – going automatically into grocery shopping mode. I grabbed the main staples: rice, bread, vegetables and bottles of water, before moving on to get other ingredients, all the while calculating the total cost in my head.

I moved into the lane lined with spices and picked out small bottles of the most important spices, throwing them into the rapidly filling cart.

Before long, I was back in the fruit aisle, having bypassed the huge wine section and the rows and rows of household items. Feeling satisfied with my haul and that all the items would not pass sixty dollars, I rounded the corner - then paused.

Sasuke was leaning against the crates of tomatoes, and had three plastic bags filled with tomatoes resting at his feet. His head was bent and his face set in deep concentration as he examined a tomato in his hand. I wanted to go and tell him not to give himself a brain hemorrhage over the simple act of picking tomatoes but I couldn't get close to him since the aisle were blocked by two girls about my age. They were standing in the middle of the aisle, giggling behind their hands, their heads close together to whisper the way girls did whenever they were admiring a hot guy.

And I could easily guess their topic of conversation.

The two teenage girls were obviously dressed to pass for twenty-one, in six-inch heels, push-up bras, and plastic (fake) IDs sticking out of their jean mini skirt back pockets.

From where I stood, at the edge of the aisle, I could hear them as their whispers got more excited and they bounced on the spot, accompanied by the occasional squeal. Like I saw it coming a mile away, they were talking about Sasuke, how hot they thought he was, with his gorgeous just-fucked hair and aristocratic features. There was also a great deal of loud-whispered discussion about his abs – although, how they could tell how hard and defined his abs are through his dark t-shirt, I would never know.

_Oh, but you do know – you got a good feel of his abs just now in the kitchen, didn't you? _Inner Sakura said, laughing boisterously and wiggling her pink eyebrows.

The girls continued to chatter in front of me, still blocking the way. They had moved on to discuss which of them would be a better match for 'the-really-really-hot-panty-dropping-man-over-there'. One of them started to straighten out her skirt while the other tugged at her halter-top.

They were pretty – if you liked the kind of girl you'll find in the backroom of hipster clubs.

_As Ino would say: they were in the grocery store only to buy toilet paper so they can stuff their bra._ Inner Sakura sneered.

I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud, trying to stifle my laughter behind my hand. The cart rolled forward as I leaned my weight on to it.

The girls didn't hear my muffed laughter but Sasuke's head snapped up. He threw the tomato into the fourth plastic bag he was holding and grabbed the three other bags around him. As if he didn't notice the two girls, he strode pass them and suddenly he had his free hand gripping the front of the cart. He moved so fluidly, so languidly and gracefully that I was surprised that the two girls scrutinizing him did not think odd of Sasuke's quick but smooth movements.

Due to his imposing hand, the cart I was leaning on stopped rolling forward.

I looked up at his very unimpressed face and rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't have fallen. I can always stop the cart…" Flashing him a brief grin before I straightened up, I whispered, aware of the two girls gawking at us, "-but I was just enjoying the blatant display of female predatory instinct of seeking out potential mates based on who has the greatest _hair_."

Sasuke swung the bags of tomatoes, all three and a half bags full, into the cart, adding on to the pile of food. "You're insulting your own species," said Sasuke as he grabbed the handle for the cart from me, pushing it down the aisle towards the checkout.

"Ha! I'm not anything like those girls." I said, shivering when I thought of myself going to a club wearing something so _revealing_.

Sasuke, having reached the checkout counter, started pilling my haul and his tomatoes onto the conveyor belt. "I know," he murmured, turning to push the cart back to the line of carts near the entrance.

"That would be eighty-two dollars and fifty cents," the man at the cash register drawled, his voice a sure sign of too many cigarettes.

Throwing out a polite smile, I stuck a finger in Sasuke's direction before singing, "He's paying."

* * *

**I'm having lots of trouble trying to figure out what to put into chapter 6. So I would appreciate reviews telling me what people think might happen in the next chapter? Its always helpful to know what people think of the story so far.**

**Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me. I'm trying really hard to make sure school doesn't get in the way of my writing but it just started so updates probably won't be as regular as before.**

**Review! They inspire me to write.**


	6. Up in the Air

**Forgive me please?**

**It's called school.**

**Upcoming is unfortunately probably a little of a slow chapter. But it's totally necessary I assure you. I put in Sasuke's thoughts, like a lot of you guys requested and also some of Sakura's past peeks through. Read until the end. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

He slipped through the kitchen entrance soundlessly and in less than an instant he was across the room and opening the large refrigerator doors.

Sasuke steadily retrieved bottles from the freezer and stacked them into the crook of his left arm, barely feeling the cold from seeping through his shirtsleeve.

Half of his mind was intent on tracking Sakura's location. She was just passing through the entryway, hauling large plastic bags full of groceries with her, making so much noise.

_(metal cans clanking, flimsy plastic rubbing together, sloshing of juices)_

He unconsciously timed his breaths to her footsteps, strong and steady like a heartbeat.

(thump. –breathe in

thump. -breathe out-)

And getting closer.

After pushing the refrigerator door, and even before the thud of the refrigerator door closing was heard, Sasuke had yanked the door to the pantry open.

In the back of his mind, a small _tiny_ voice whispered how appreciative he was that his mother had the ridiculous operation of installing two refrigerators into the kitchen, a large one in the main area and another walk-in refrigerator which size was large enough to accommodate his height behind the pantry.

Depositing the bottles in the furthest corner of the walk-in refrigerator swiftly, Sasuke stalked back out into the pantry. He swung the metal bar that held the door close back into place quietly, confident that Sakura would not be able to hear the thud. She was not near the kitchen yet.

Inwardly, he smirked. She had him remembering past memories like he was a child misbehaving with all the sneaking around.

But – it wasn't really sneaking when he could clear a freezer full of bottles of blood before she could even cross the foyer.

He brushed past her in the threshold of the kitchen _too fast_, invisible to her eye whilst he could take in every minute detail of her profile. The surrounding air stirred, caused by her breathing and movement - Sasuke's movements were like the barest wisps of smoke.

Her expression was unsmiling but light, as if traces of slowly fading happiness lingered.

He thought he was getting better at this; at understanding what Sakura was feeling by analysing her expressions and the circumstances _because for god's sake, the girl did not talk about them_. She was expressive in expressions and actions – but he could not read her well.

He made an audible (even to her) sound in his last footsteps as he walked to the wall opposite the kitchen entrance before leaning against the surface, making sure to alert her of his presence.

She would think that he had never stepped into the kitchen.

He watched her stiffen unconsciously, reacting to his sudden appearance. She didn't lift her head but instead continued to lug groceries out of the plastic bags.

He watched her as she carefully lay out the three and a half bags of tomatoes and the way the corners of her lips tugged upwards. He watched as air stirred her eyelashes when she raised her right eyebrow mockingly at him.

Traces of happiness that she showed to him – he absorbed them and locked her expressions for further inspection at a later time, when he wasn't so _distracted_.

The corners of his lips turned downwards; he knew that he made the right decision of hiding the blood.

She knew he was a vampire – but she didn't need to be reminded that he was a _monster_.

* * *

-…-

-…-

-…-

_(An opened window_

_Light classical music_

_A garden lamp shining in the distance_

_Flowers of vibrant colours_

_And-)_

-…-

-…-

-…-

_Petals_ of **Blood**

(…)

Chapter 6

_Up in the Air_

-…-

-…-

-…-

_(- the smell of freshly sliced tomatoes)_

-…-

-…-

-…-

* * *

It was just past one o'clock in the afternoon when I found myself in the huge kitchen of the Uchiha manor industriously cutting tomatoes into quarters. Working leisurely because I didn't have the weight of Sasuke's stare on me.

After stuffing the other food into random places in the cupboards and refrigerator, and peeking into the mysterious freezer compartment only to find it empty, I set to work on several tomatoes.

After hunting for a sieve – Sasuke's kitchen may usually be void of food, but it was incredibly equipped– I painstakingly pushed the tomato through the sieve, collecting the juice that flowed out in saucepan. I set the saucepan on the stove and with a turn of the knob, set the tomato juice in a boil.

Quickly transplanting the remaining tomato slices onto a plate, I set those out onto the granite top of the breakfast bar before sliding the cup of full tomato juice beside it once it cooled.

A wave of curiosity washed over me and in a voice no louder than if he was in the room with me, I called, "Sasuke?"

Two heartbeats later, he was there.

"Geez, how good is your hearing?" I asked while turning back to the stove to retrieve another glass of freshly squeezed tomato juice. Forming an 'O' with my mouth, I carefully blew on the surface of the still simmering juice.

Sasuke looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. With his presence, the kitchen seemed a lot smaller.

"Don't just stand there – try some. And I would appreciate some assurance that my cooking abilities hadn't dwindled since having spent the past few days with creatures that don't eat." I said, ignoring the fact that making tomato juice and cutting tomatoes into slices was not exactly cooking.

"I'm not a good tester." Sasuke drawled, but he took a seat at the breakfast bar.

"_Tsk_. You just don't want to shower me with compliments. _And_ you don't want to admit that your diet is sorely lacking in nutritious and delicious food." I smacked my lips loudly after sipping the hot tomato juice delicately. It was easy to pretend Sasuke was just someone who had a special diet, like a vegetarian or someone with a medical condition.

I watched with strange fascination as Sasuke plucked up a slice of tomato between his long fingers before popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. His face remained expressionless and he swallowed before picking up another slice.

"How does it taste like to you?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"How does it taste like to _you_?" He shot back at me.

I pretended to contemplate for a second. "Like tomatoes."

He lifted the glass of tomato juice to his lips and drank. Looking at him like this, if I saw him on the street a week ago or perhaps in my old school, I would have never thought anything different. He would seem like any other teenage boy, looking eighteen or nineteen.

"Human food tastes bland to us. It has almost no taste," said Sasuke as he polished off the entire glass of tomato juice, showcasing his throat - pale in contrast to his dark shirt.

"Then why do you eat tomatoes? Why not something with a stronger taste? Like curry or black pepper?"

Sasuke stood, brushing aside my question as he pushed the plate of sliced tomatoes in my direction. "Eat. You're hungry."

I munched thoughtfully as Sasuke busied himself with washing the empty glass and then striding out of the kitchen, smirking at me briefly when I started to stuff tomato slices into my mouth.

* * *

_It was like it hadn't hit me hard enough that this man drinks blood._

* * *

I had showered. I had drawn the curtains closed. I had slid under the soft beddings and counted to a hundred sheep.

But I still could not fall asleep.

I rolled over under the covers, bring my arms up around my torso, sorely missing my oversized t-shirt that helped me sleep.

_It's gone now._

Letting out a frustrated shriek, I kicked off the pale eggshell coloured covers.

Raising a hand to mess up my hair that was already coming out from its hair tie, I felt very restless. Barefoot, I pushed the large double doors open and walked down the hallway towards the main section of the manor.

I walked, keeping my eyes on the lookout in search for familiar hallway that led to the main foyer. It was so dark; the hallway had strange gothic candelabras casting a muted light over everything and heavily tinted windows that barely let in any sunlight.

_Sunlight._

I let out a tired, disbelieving giggle escape. I was trying my hardest to fall asleep when it was in the middle of the day. Wasn't it basic and natural that humans slept in the night and lived in the day?

I continued on my way, trusting my sense of direction, turning down multiple hallways and passing many closed doors. My hands itched to open a few just to see the other secrets Sasuke kept but I knew that I did not have any energy to argue with him if he did get angry.

_And we were doing so well recently._

Light flared out in the main foyer and I slowly made my way down the grand staircase towards the large landing. I went into the drawing room.

The windows were wide open, and the curtains still moving in wind, just like how I left them. The piano, however, had the large white sheet replaced over it, hiding the grandness of it all.

I sat down on one of the sofas, swung my feet onto the plush cushions and leaned back onto the armrest, fully intent on trying to fall asleep here. Perhaps a change of atmosphere will allow me to finally rest, with or without my favourite shirt.

_But it's the same atmosphere isn't it? Rich, large and grand._

_And cold, so cold._

Screwing my eyes shut, I leaned my head sideways, nesting it into the crook between the armrest and the velvet back.

I pulled at my shirt impatiently, wishing it were maybe two sizes larger. I huffed, irritated at my own incapability of falling asleep in tight clothes unless I was very_ very_ tired.

"What are you doing?" A smooth baritone voice asked from somewhere above my head. My eyes snapped open instantly and my muscles tensed at the sudden intrusion, all my work of relaxing them shattered against the wall.

I cranked my head backwards on the armrest, looking upside down to find Sasuke standing near the entrance of the drawing room looking on curiously.

I did the only thing I could do in my position. I rolled my eyes and answered sarcastically.

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just trying to fall asleep here in this lush cushion sofa in the middle of broad daylight since now I am practically required to be completely nocturnal."

Keeping my eyes on Sasuke, I noticed that he recently had taken a shower. His hair spikes were dripping water onto his black t-shirt, but they stayed sticking out in the back, drooping slightly as water slipped off the black strands. As if he noticed the direction of my stare, Sasuke brushed a hand through his wet hair, ruffing it.

"Why not sleep in your room?"

My heart thumped harder at the sound of "your room" tumbling from Sasuke lips. I had a worrying thought that maybe he could hear it.

"It's not my room," I spoke loudly trying to cover up the sound of my heart acting up. "And I can't sleep because I'm not wearing my favourite sleeping shirt which is wonderfully oversized. A shirt that need I remind you, _you burnt_." I glared at him, hoping the effect of it was not undermined when upside down.

Sasuke's right eyebrow rose. "You have a shirt you need to be in to fall asleep?"

"Yeeeees. My favourite one – the white one with little yellow triangles printed along on the hem – is the best. But now, I would deal with any shirt that was oversized." I let out a sigh at the end, shaking my head a little, my pink hair rubbing against the velvet armchair surface. My collection of clothes shrunk by half – most of my previous clothes didn't really fit me since I was so awkwardly small.

"I could command you to fall asleep," Sasuke said.

My eyes widened and I said crossly, "Hell no. I rather you didn't. I rather not sleep at all." The thought of Sasuke being able to command me still made me uncomfortable, even with the new development of our relationship and the compromise standing between us.

"And is it really falling asleep? Or being knocked unconscious?" I asked while my arms curled around my torso and my head moving further back, making my hair tumble down over the armrest.

Sasuke looked at me for a long moment before saying slowly, "There are easier ways to knock you unconscious." He ran his hand through his hair again, took one long look at me before striding out of the drawing room.

_Abrupt much? _Inner Sakura made her appearance.

_Whatever. Sleep, sleep! One sheep…two sheep…_

I counted silently in my head but not even reaching five before something tickled my nose.

I opened my eyes to the sight of Sasuke leaning over me, dangling a piece of cloth over my face. A brief sense of shock ran through me; when did he come in? And how in the world did he move so soundlessly?

Sasuke let the cloth go and it fell out of his grasp to cover my entire face.

_The smell- it was…distinctly male, it smelt like…freshly fallen rain, soap and…_

_Sasuke._

I sat up suddenly and stared at the material in my hands. It was black and soft from repetitive washings. It also smelt wonderful.

It was Sasuke's t-shirt.

"Wear that and go to sleep." Sasuke said, his expression unimpressed as he looked down at me from his towering height.

"Stop being annoying." And with that, he was gone again.

* * *

_Stop disappearing so quickly,_

_You're making me dizzy_

_And maybe even miss you a little_

* * *

On the prowl, I entered the foyer irritated and confused. I was rudely woken up by loud shouting - a feat since the manor was so freaking huge and the wing I was in was not the one with the main foyer.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Teme here said you were sleeping!"

Ah. This dear boy was going to _die_.

I gave him the most furious face I could muster and hoped it spelt instant death. He had woken me up from my sleep, that being a crime in itself.

"Obviously he was _wrong_, since here you are, obviously _not_ asleep! HA! Teme doesn't even know what's going on in his own place. And people call him a _genius_." Naruto sneered into Sasuke's direction. Sasuke was leaning on the wall looking equally irritated as I felt, glaring at the blond boy.

"I knew it. I knew you were as stupid as your hairstyle. I have told you many times Sasu-_gay_, it looks like a chicken's ass." Naruto laughed loudly and turned to me, his blue azure eyes shining in mirth.

I scowled back at him. This boy was so deeply unreceptive to everything around him. Couldn't he tell that both Sasuke and I were going to throttle him if he didn't shut up?

"Hey…isn't that teme's shirt?" Naruto's words shook me out of my warpath haze and I stared at him dumbfounded. "Why are you wearing Sasuke's shirt, Sakura?" Naruto turned his full attention onto me.

_Crap!_ I had completely forgotten that I was wearing the shirt Sasuke had lent to me three days ago. Why, oh why, did Naruto pick _now_ to be observant?

My irritation disappeared and my cheeks burned. Carefully avoiding looking at Sasuke, I furiously tried to think of a way to get out of this particular situation. Even if I hadn't done anything wrong and Sasuke lending me his shirt was just a sign of chivalry (_maybe?_), it was embarrassing and I had no desire for Naruto to know about my odd sleeping requirements.

"Dobe," Sasuke dragged out a sigh. I unwillingly raised my head to look at him. He had eyebrows scrunched in irritation. "Let's go. You're wasting my time."

Thankfully, Naruto's short-attention span saved me. "Finally! I thought you didn't want to go?"

Sasuke didn't answer but started walking towards the large entrance doors. He threw the doors open effortlessly and walked through.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a second before striding after him. Looking over his broad shoulder, Naruto shouted, "Come on, Sakura-chan! You're invited too!"

Through the open entrance doors, I saw Sasuke stop in his tracks and he turned back.

His glare was back on, and it was focused on me.

"What?" I asked Naruto uncomprehendingly without looking at him. I was analysing Sasuke's face, trying to decipher why in the world was he angry with me all of a sudden.

"We're going to town! You come too!"

I blinked and the connection was broken.

"Town?"

* * *

I found myself in the backseat of Sasuke's car, listening to Naruto's tale about a time when he and Sasuke had been on some mission. It involved many names I didn't know and places I never heard of but it was still interesting because Naruto was so charming.

Sasuke, driving at his insanely fast pace, had the car on the sidewalk that lined the street where Coffeesands stood in no time at all. I snapped the button of the seatbelt and stepped out of the backseat of the car.

"You sure you _have_ to go to work?" Naruto whined, quickly getting out of the car and leaning across the top to pout at me. "The offer about accompanying this fine gentleman and…" He paused, pointing his finger downwards towards the front seat of the car to indicate Sasuke. "…that bastard with bad manners to town still stands." He grinned endearingly.

Pursuing my lips, I sighed. It was so hard to say no to this guy. "Sorry, Naruto, I already promised I would be in for work today."

"That's no fun. But I guess you got to do what you got to do. I'll see you later in school then?"

I nodded, stepping onto the sidewalk. "Okay."

"I'll see you at lunch! We'll get ramen."

I turned back to smile at the strange, charming boy. "Maybe you can tell me all about Sasuke's and your little shopping extravaganza then. Get back into the car – you're in the sun."

"You make me sound gay. I can't say the same for the teme, but _I'm_ definitely not gay!" Naruto shouted, his hands waving around wildly.

"Never said you were! But strange that you thought of that, isn't it?" I shouted over my shoulder as I pulled open the glass doors of the café and walked inside, the familiar smell of coffee hitting me full in the face.

I went into the back room to grab my apron from the hook on the wall, smiling all the way.

Tying the knot at the back, I wondered how endearing Naruto must be for me to already feel like we were friends.

_Maybe it's not Naruto. Maybe you're the one who has changed. It is time to start trusting people more. _Inner Sakura said, shaking her head and sharing my feelings.

* * *

Parking swiftly and shutting off the engine, Sasuke flipped up the hood of his jacket onto his head before sliding out of the car. The car was parked in such a way that the driver's side was in the shadows of the buildings but the passenger side was unblocked from the sun's rays. The street was narrow, it wasn't possible to park further into the shade.

Naruto got out of the passenger side. "Ass." The blond boy muttered before pulling down the sleeves of his orange hoodie to cover his forearms and ducking his head down.

"Hn." The expression of Sasuke's face was impassive as he tucked the car keys into the back pocket of his jeans. The clouds overhead were moving in to block the lowering sun. Alternate old-fashioned gas lamps were lit along the narrow streets, preparing for the time of dusk. They walked further into the shadows of the alley in-between asymmetrical buildings, the alley getting increasingly narrow, forcing Naruto to walk behind Sasuke instead of beside him.

Finally they broke out of the alley, ducking under a low archway that opened out into a small square. There were old storefronts that greeted them but Sasuke and Naruto paid no heed except for the one just off the corner. The sign above the narrow entrance door said _GARASU-YOUGU SINCE 1867 _in block red letters and the spotless window display showed off old antiques vases and old-fashioned Japanese screens.

They stepped over the threshold of the store and a light tinkling sound could be heard as a small bell jingled above the door. The two boys walked through the aisles of old vintage antiques occasionally dodging cats lounging about.

"Some of this shit is actually pretty cool." Naruto commented as he observed the figurine of a samurai placed on the shelf.

Sasuke didn't respond and leaned against the wall near to the main counter, right next to the glass box encasing a stack of world maps that existed since the early fifties.

Naruto reached out with his right hand and touched his pointer finger to the tip of the samurai sword. He quickly withdrew, looking at the dot of blood on the tip of his pointer finger astonished. "Wow, didn't think it was coated with silver."

"Don't get blood on the merchandise," said a gravely voice in the direction of the back of the store. An old white-haired woman emerged from the wooden door set into the wall, two cats winding around her legs when she came to a stand still.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning at the old woman while he swiped his bleeding finger on his jeans. "Hadn't seen you in a while – how are you?"

"Better before you came here." The woman said snidely, turning her intense gaze onto Sasuke. "Elder cat." Sasuke inclined his head down, greeting the old woman respectfully.

"Hmmmmm." Elder cat smiled widely, revealing two rows of white teeth, despite her old age. "Much better. You-" She glared at Naruto "-should address me by my proper name as well. I suppose you came to collect your orders? Got a mission coming up do ya'?" She leaned down to push away one of the cats – Siamese bred – away from the counter, dislodging one of the notches in the wood there.

The wood behind the counter lurched and swung open, revealing a hidden door.

"Put that down." Elder cat barked at Naruto before descending the steps that opened up from behind the wood at a speed that old ladies shouldn't possess. The two boys followed quickly, Naruto pausing only long enough to deposit the samurai figurine back onto the display shelf.

"The order came in just yesterday. Two dozen kunai, lined with electrum and silver. Retractable mini draggers encased in the back of course– they can cut any kind of vampire with just a swipe if you wield it properly. A full assortment of blades with varying length and specialties, electrum wires…" Her voice travelled back to them as they wandered down the steps, deeper into the darkness.

"We appreciate your services," said Sasuke.

"Yeah, thanks for the weapons Baa-chan!" Naruto's voice was booming and loud throughout the tunnel.

Elder cat led them into a stone room that housed all kinds of weapons and other tools. She went straight to the long hard oak table in the centre of the room and popped the locks off the large metal chest on it.

"Don't touch anything else." She said once again in her gravely voice, glaring notably at Naruto who in turn raised his hands up in surrender. Elder cat huffed before she turned on her heels and walked through another darkened hallway at the other end of the room, leaving the two boys.

Sasuke immediately went about examining the weapons that the metal chest held.

Naruto, on the other hand, made no move to join him and instead was staring Sasuke with startling clear eyes.

"You're pissed at me."

The dark-haired boy didn't answer nor glance at him, picking up a thin blade as long as his forearm and flicking back and forth on his knuckles expertly, testing the weight and flexibility.

Naruto ploughed on. "I saw your face back there. Why are you so angry about Sakura coming with us?" He paused, gauging the expression on the other boy's face which was partially hidden. He had learnt to read Sasuke's face – it was the only way to really understand what the Uchiha was thinking.

"…I don't get it. Sakura knows you are a vampire. She knows that you go on missions..."

Sasuke had started checking the daggers and kunai by running his fingers over the smooth edges before moving on to the long blades.

"It doesn't really make a difference if she sees you collecting your weapons."

"It does."

Sasuke turned back to look at Naruto coldly.

"No, it doesn't! She has to know eventually. What do you think would happen? Sakura would continue be oblivious forever? She's really in too deep already. She needs to know. About all this." Naruto hands gestured around the stone room, but Sasuke knew he meant more than that.

"Would you rather she realise how dangerous it is when someone silts her throat?"

Sasuke's hand held a long silver blade, with its electrum edges glinting in the low firelight from the torches that hung around the room.

"What the fuck do you know? Sakura…she doesn't _need_ to know. She's _never_ going to have someone hold a knife to her throat."

Naruto laughed dryly without humor. "Do you really believe that? No, Sakura hasn't pissed anyone off enough for them to hold a knife to her throat. But _you_ have. There are loads of people just waiting for the chance to _tear you down_. They can't hurt you easily even though a goddamn a lot of them want to. But- Sakura? She's an easy target. And she _is_ a target – the moment you had her by your side she was."

Naruto stepped closer to Sasuke, trying to get him to see that he really needed to let Sakura in on their world, even all the horrors.

"She's human." Sasuke said in a low dangerous voice, "She has never even seen a knife being used in a hostile situation before. She can't handle the details of what we do, of we _are_." Sasuke said, flipping the knife outwards to point it level with Naruto's heart.

"If you don't tell her, she would be even more afraid when she finds herself in the middle of that hostile situation. She's already in too deep Sasuke. She's going to know of all of this eventually. It would be better if you showed it to her slowly, instead of waiting for her to get caught up in it with everyone trying to kill her off."

Sasuke's hand tightened on the hilt.

"She won't get killed."

Naruto smiled softly, seeing a side of his best friend he hardly ever saw. "Yeah. I know." He stepped closer, and Sasuke pulled back the knife. "I'll protect her too. I know how important she is to you after all. And…she's pretty cool, y'know." Naruto's smile widened as he said smoothly, "I can totally picture us becoming friends. We should go hang out together sometime, like me, Hinata and Sakura. You don't have to come – you'll just ruin it for the rest of us, you moody bastard."

* * *

Exiting the store, I fastened the new watch I bought on my wrist. I smiled down at it, thinking I made a good choice despite what the saleslady said about more feminine watches. There was just _something_ about large white watches.

I walked the three blocks, back towards Coffeesands, lightly swinging the small paper bag that contained the box and warrantee for the watch.

Stopping dead, I stared at the black car parked neatly along the sidewalk. Glancing back at my new watch, I frowned, Sasuke was early.

I scanned the dark windows of the car but it was tinted so darkly that I couldn't deem the shapes behind the glass.

I tapped lightly on the passenger side window. No answer.

In Coffeesands then.

Slightly mystified, I walked up the steps that lead to the café and swung open the door, immediately spotting Sasuke. His back was to me and he was speaking to Kouhiseki-san.

"Sorry dearie, she just left – maybe say ten minutes or so ago? There were little customers around and I got Haru working the tables today so I let her off early." Kouhiseki-san said, looking apologetic.

"Did you see which direction she went in?" Sasuke's baritone voice cut through the familiar noise that was always present in the café – tinkling of glasses, clanking of utensils and the wild tones of gossip.

"No, no dearie, I didn't. Why, I don't expect she be far. After all she does have a fine handsome young man like yourself picking her up after work. I still remember my husband doing that for me, when he was a young boy and I, a young girl. Oh, the happy stories I could-"

"SAKURA. HOW THE HELL DO YOU WORK THIS?"

I spun towards the counter where Haruki, Kouhiseki-san's son, was battling it out with the ancient coffee machine. Sighing but smiling a little at the innocent helplessness of the boy who was a year younger than I was, I leaned against the counter and slid the lock that held the grinder tight.

"You got to unjam the grinder first and clean it out. Every four cups at least." I said, handing Haruki the dirty grinder.

"You do it if you're so smart." Haruki muttered under his breath but it was not soft enough to escape the keen ears of Kouhiseki-san. (Nor Sasuke's for that matter.)

"HARUKI." Kouhiseki-san said coming over to us, sounding so much like how Haruki said my name before that I had to bite back a smile. _Like mother, like son. "_I gave you a job, and I expect you to finish it!"

"But…but! You EMPLOYED Sakura!"

"And so? Do you want me to _fire_ Sakura then?" Kouhiseki-san said, frowning deeply at her callow son.

I felt Sasuke's hand on my elbow before he drew me away and out of the café's doors.

I was in the car already before he spoke: "Does he always talk to you that way?" His voice flat, as if he did not really want to ask that question in the first place.

"Er…yes. Haruki always has been like that." I smiled sheepishly. After working with Haruki for so long, I gotten used to him addressing me so flippantly, although it used to get on my nerves. "What about you?" I asked, "Didn't you hear the way Kouhiseki-san addressed you?" I smiled behind my raised hands.

"_Dearie_! Oh that's hilarious." I laughed while wishing I were able to see Sasuke's expression when Kouhiseki-san called him something so …familiar.

Sasuke kept his face turned towards the road as he drove but I thought if I looked hard enough, his ears would be red.

I laughed before saying, maybe too late, "Sorry Sasuke, I'm sure someone has called you endearing terms before – your mother or your father. I just never heard anyone call you anything quite so gentle."

I drew in a huge breath and kept a straight face…

Before a sneeze took hold of me.

Hastily reaching into the glove box in front of me, I drew out a box of tissues.

When putting it back however, I found a medium-sized book. The type you see at airport bookstores, boasting about places all over the world. This book was mainly on the different parts of Japan but it also included major cities all over the world.

"Why do you have a tourist guidebook in your glove box?" I asked.

I flipped through the book, looking at the glossy pages printed full of beautiful pictures and pretty descriptions.

"Missions."

Like always, one-worded or short-sentenced answers, cryptic. And so Sasuke.

I connected the dots myself, knowing that mysterious would always be a part of Sasuke.

"You go to all these amazing places for missions?" I was flipping towards the back of the book now, looking at the world-class cities and ancient architecture of the western world.

"We don't get to sightsee much." Sasuke deadpanned.

I laughed, and my fingers finally found the pages that titled _London, the Great Capital of England_ _– host city of the Olympics 2012_.

"England?" Sasuke's voice cut me out of my thoughts.

I answered honestly, once again connecting the dots behind his tone, his question, "Yeah…I always wanted to go there, and visit the Big Ben, London Eye, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace…" I let out a small sigh. "There's so much to _see_."

I closed the guidebook, putting it back into the glove box, a strange bittersweet feeling flooding through me.

* * *

_An old, passed down children picture book labelled __The Journey of the Lonely Egg_

…

_Two children bent over it – one pink-haired, the other dusty red._

…

"_See, this is not supposed to be here!"_

"_It's a drawing! Someone must have drawn it in this book."_

"_I wonder what it is?"_

"_Do you think it's a real building? Like in real life? Maybe we can find it."_

"…_hmm, I never seen it before. But maybe we can try building it. Is Taka-chan using the Lego blocks today?"_

"_We'll have to make it as pretty as this drawing! Then it will be real!"_

* * *

"Great choice of food, Sakura-chan! Ramen is the absolute best. Right, right?" He grinned over the top of his ramen bowl and then continued slurping noisily.

"God, Naruto. Could you be any more disgusting? Please don't smile at Sakura with noodles in your mouth." Ino rebuked, tapping her fingers on the water bottle she held, her nails painted a violent orange.

Naruto opened his mouth again (still full of noodles), no doubt to argue back, but was quickly halted when Hinata placed her hand lightly on his wrist.

Naruto turned his head to her and smiled softly, mouth closed.

_So cute!_

I smiled into my own bowl of ramen.

"Sakura." A deep and alluring voice spoke to my right and I recognised it immediately.

"Teme!"

A large dark grey object was placed on the picnic table, just beside my large bowl of ramen. I recognised it, and quickly pulled it open, shifting through my belongings – like a grown adult looking through old objects of her childhood.

_I didn't think we would ever see this again. _Inner Sakura remarked, surprised.

"How did you find my backpack? I left it in my locker." I asked, flipping my wallet open and I was thankful to see that my ID was still there. I fiddled briefly with my old, knocked-about iPod, noting with surprise that it still had battery life.

"Kakashi went to your old school."

I nodded in understanding, thinking that the grey-haired man could probably do anything – sneaking into my old school and stealing the backpack wouldn't pose as a problem to him.

An old Polaroid slipped out of my wallet and fluttered to the grassy ground. Bending to pick it up, I smiled at the photo of Ino and I posing in front of the water fountain at a shopping mall, with our arms around each other and Ino's free hand outstretched to take the photo.

I straightened up too late, to the sight of Naruto looking at the drawings in my sketchbook.

"Naruto-!" I gasped.

"Wow, you're good Sakura-chan!" He interrupted me, still engrossed in flipping through my sketchbook. "Some of these drawings look amazing." He grinned at me over the top of the book.

"Don't go and randomly touch other people's things Naruto!" Ino said and lunged at the blond boy, snatching the sketchbook back.

A confused (and slightly hurt) expression settled over Naruto's face as he glanced questioningly at Ino than me.

I bit my lip as I tugged the retrieved sketchbook from Ino to my chest, swallowing the lump that lodged in my throat.

"…I…I don't usually let people see my sketchbook." I smiled weakly at Naruto, apologetically. "It's like a diary to me, filled with pictures that occupy my thoughts. It's…uncomfortable for anyone to know so much about me…"

Naruto gazed at me thoughtfully, before returning my weak smile with a much brighter one. "I understand Sakura-chan. Sorry about that." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't think sometimes. Humans are _hard_."

_I think he means humans are hard to understand._ Inner Sakura said.

"I just want to understand my new friend better."

My thoughts froze as my insides felt like it was flipped over like a pancake.

"Naruto…" I whispered, strangely touched by his admission. He reminded me of Konohamaru and the other children back at the orphanage who always managed to keep me smiling.

"Here." I held out my sketchbook to him, tilting my head a little in discomfort. "I shouldn't be so uptight about this. This sketchbook doesn't really hold anything interesting really. I don't mind you looking at it…now…now that we're friends." Looking at his blue eyes, I understood – the act of sharing your thoughts with your friends was nothing strange or nothing to feel uncomfortable about.

I looked around the table, seeing Naruto's bright smile, Hinata's lovely face, Sasuke's unreadable eyes and Ino's proud _proud _expression.

And I smiled too, because it felt like I crossed some large chasm that separated me from the rest of the world.

Naruto took the sketchbook from me slowly, as if he was letting me withdraw my offer if I changed my mind. Keeping a firm smile on my face, I pushed the book into his hands and flipped the sketchbook open to its first page – a sketch of the night sky with all stars and no moon.

Naruto slowly flipped through the thick sketchbook while Ino looked over his shoulder to look at the pictures she had briefly seen as I sketched them. Hinata continued to politely eat her ramen noodles, even though I didn't think I would mind her looking at my sketches. They came in a set, Naruto and Hinata – if you liked Naruto, you would love Hinata, just because of the way he looked at her.

"Why don't you draw people?" Naruto asked, his hand brushing the sketch of the Tokyo railways while the sun set in the background. "You draw everything, reality and imaginary, but why don't you draw people?"

I shifted, tugging at my white dress shirt. "I'm bad at drawing people that's all. People are harder because they all have a certain feel, aura maybe, to them." I shook my head. "I never get them right. It's like I'm not looking at them closely enough, not noticing everything I need to notice – the details, the expression, the feelings…" I shrugged again helplessly, remembering the past times when I have tried to draw Ino, or the kids at the orphanage, only to fail terribly.

"And what's this?" Naruto asked, flipping the book over to face me so my eyes could take in the simple sketches of sunflowers with smiley-faces drawn onto them.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled a soft, sad smile. "Smiley-face sunflowers." I shifted my gaze away from Naruto's questioning expression, focusing on the laces of Sasuke's sneakers, feeling shy and a bit of a failure. "I draw them when I'm not feeling too happy." My voice was in whispers, but they were vampires and once hear it anyway.

I heard a series of sounds but I refused to take my eyes away from Sasuke's shoes – grey sneakers with black laces. My gaze broke only when a flood of orange entered my vision abruptly.

"Here." Naruto said while pushing the sketchbook back into my hands. "Thanks for sharing, Sakura-chan! Wow, I think we'll be great friends." He winked. "Just think about all the pranks we could pull on Sasuke-teme, with you living with him and all. Heheh, imagining his disgruntled face makes my entire day." Naruto put his hands behind his face and grinned widely.

I looked down at the thick sketchbook that used to be almost everything to me, the solace I went to, and although the book was closed, I thought of the smiley-face sunflowers.

I tucked the book close to my chest, but lifted my face to regard my friends. Behind Naruto's shoulder I could see the violent orange colour of Ino's nails as she held a hand to her mouth to hide her grin, and the soft features of Hinata's face, her expression peaceful and lovely. "Yeah. I reckon we should start today. Not a moment to waste. I bet we could give him a good one before sunrise." Sasuke raised an eyebrow in challenge at my words, his mouth moving to form the words: _you wish_.

_Yes. I wish with all my heart that this would last._

* * *

"_No matter how well you built it, it's not going to be real, Sakura."_

* * *

"I'm sure it was right here." I mumbled as I scanned the parking lot, trying to spot the sleek black car that belonged to Sasuke.

Usually Sasuke would beat me to the car after school. So I was used to looking out for him instead of his car. I sighed. It was difficult to spot the expensive car among other expensive cars.

"What was right here?" A pleasant, polite tone greeted me. I jumped, my backpack thumping onto my shoulder blades familiarly while I spun around to glare at the grey-haired man that proved that sneaking wasn't the only thing he did that resembled a thief.

"I told you to stop doing that Kakashi-sensei!" I said.

"And _I_ told _you_ that you're particularly unaware of what's going on around you. Now, what are you looking for?" He shot back, lone eye twinkling.

"Sasuke. He was supposed to meet me after school but I can't seem to find his car." I said, giving the parking lot another once over with no luck.

"I, the ever humble servant, have been given the greatest honour to present you with the greatest happiness and pleasure that you will ever know today." Kakashi said cheerfully and easily grabbed my backpack from my shoulders.

I reached out to take my backpack back from him but he easily avoided.

"I'm kidding. But not really." His lone eye winked and I took a hesitant step backwards his words now registering in my mind.

"Sakura, I'm here to escort you back to the Uchiha compound. Let me do that please? I don't enjoy having to fend Sasuke off while he tries to rip out my spine."

"Does that really happen?" I asked, curiously.

"Yes." He answered, cheerfully.

He smiled and I didn't know what to do with myself as I thought of the image of Kakashi running away while Sasuke chased with the speech bubble: _"Run faster because I'm going to rip your spine out and feed it to you!"_

"Often?"

"All the time."

"He rips my spine out then feeds it to me."

I snapped out of my thoughts and stared at him suspiciously. "Can you read minds?"

"Oh no, Sakura. I unfortunately do not have that talent." He said, shaking his head and walking off in a different direction. "Save me a lot of trouble if I did. Could have avoided a lot of heartbreak – theirs not mine of course." Kakashi mused as we walked towards a dark blue mustang.

"Is this appropriate? Teachers giving students a lift?"

"I'm not giving you a lift. I am ensuring you get home safe and sound. And here I thought it was quite an honourable act. He said, a slight teasing tone to his voice.

Kakashi pulled the passenger door open politely, tilting his head to indicate I get in. "Come on now, I'm not kidnapping you. Sasuke really did tell me to get you home in one piece."

"The joke is not lost on me, since Sasuke kidnapped me in the first place." I said while still getting into the car. "Why did he tell you to get me?" I asked the question that had been floating in my mind the entire time.

"Sasuke left the school compound about an hour ago. He has a mission and he needed to go get the briefing first before he takes off. He'll be gone until tomorrow at least." Kakashi said as I tugged the backpack out of his grasp and settled it onto my lap.

"Oh." I said and I bit my lower lip. "He didn't say anything about that."

Kakashi sighed, closing the passenger door after me. But I could still hear his voice being unmistakably wistful as he said, "Sasuke doesn't say goodbye. He'd much rather just leave without a word."

* * *

_You didn't tell me anything._

* * *

The call came when we were out the city, perhaps at the halfway mark towards the Uchiha compound. Kakashi's ringtone was the upbeats of a popular eighties song.

He seemingly whipped out his phone out of nowhere and answered with a cheerful, "Hello," keeping his left hand on the steering wheel. The scenery outside of the car continued to flash by quickly, the car not slowing down in the slightest.

"Popcorn crepes."

I blinked.

"Are you sure that is for the best, Tsunade-sama?" I shifted in my seat, fidgeting with the straps of my backpack.

"…Unavoidable? Yes, of course."

Kakashi's hand jerked and the car spun into a smooth U-turn, going back into the city.

"I'll bring her right in." After ending his phone call, Kakashi turned his gaze onto me, looking slightly troubled.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sorry, Sakura. Unfortunately, we have to make a detour. Your presence at the council is requested." He took another sharp right, the car zooming down the bridge. The water-edge crashed into concrete walls as the sun started to rise in the distance.

"Uh," I said, "okay?"

Kakashi blinked, taking his eyes off the road as he looked back at me.

"You're alright with meeting the council? You seem awfully calm about this."

"Oh no, it's just that these days, I'm hardly ever shocked, since I am always out of my comfort zone anyway." I fiddled with my hair, retying the ponytail.

"You are going to meet the council members. And that isn't something to be taken lightly. They are the ones who govern all vampire families that have agreed to be under the council rule for the sake of harmony - that is typically almost all the vampires within Japan."

"So they are like the government?"

His eyes darkened, steely black grey orbs that caught the light of the sunrise. "Not quite as democratic."

I bit my lip, turning to look outside, feeling slightly nervous. This obviously wasn't going to be a social call, or a getting-to-know-the-new-kid-on-the-block event.

"Don't let them hurt you, okay? Intimidating as they might be, they have no right to physically hurt you, not when you're Sasuke's."

I nodded sullenly, noting that once again I was hiding behind Sasuke.

_(How much longer can you protect me?)_

"And always, _always_ remember – there is nothing that goes on in there that _they_ don't know about."

"I didn't do anything wrong. They can't condemn me for anything."

Kakashi took a long look at me, and I thought I could see perhaps a bit of something else other than sunlight reflected in his eyes.

"That's right. Chin up Sakura."

* * *

(Sizzling oil on the frying pan

Rhythmic movement of cracking eggs

Cries from children upstairs

Foul smell of stale beer

And-

-the stinging pain of pricked fingers)

* * *

**I was going to include the council scene in this chapter - but I felt that maybe this was already too long.**

**okay. NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE EPIC. Like, it's only in my mind right now, but I love it already. I can't wait to share it with you guys.**

**But for now, give me some support in terms of reviews? I really love hearing what you guys have to say. You can even yell at me for not updating for so long - I'll take it like a man I swear.**

**And did you guys like the whole Sasuke's point of view scene? I need feedback to know how to go on from here.**


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